Buddha Poses and Postures

A lot of people ask us "What does this Buddha statue mean?" What they are really asking is, "What does the posture of this Buddha statue mean?", since the pose of the statue has a particular reference to an event in the life of the Buddha.

Also referred to as an Attitude, there are over 100 poses illustrating the life of the Buddha. And each posture will have a specific hand gesture (called a Mudra) associated with the posture. An example would be with both hands folded face-up, resting in the lap. This is the attitude of meditation. (Click photo on the left).

There are many other common poses as well, with the most common pose you will find in Thai temples is with the legs crossed, the left hand in the lap, and the right hand pointing to the ground with the palm facing inward toward the Buddha. This posture is known as Calling The Earth to Witness, and it relates to the moment of enlightenment for the Buddha.

It is the story of how the Buddha meditated all night to overcome the fears and temptations sent by the demon Mara to defeat the Buddha. Instead, the Buddha called the Earth Goddess to witness that the Buddha achieved enlightenment in order to share with the rest of the world. Witnessing that, the Earth Goddess wrang her hair, releasing flood waters that swept away the Demon Mara and all the temptresses he had released.

There are many other common poses, and here is just brief explanation of their meanings, but to get a more accurate description, please go to our Main Home Page and click on a photo of a statue. The link will take you to the information page which will explain the meaning behind the posture.

Right Hand Raised - Protection from evil, warding off fear. This is typically in a standing pose, but you can see a seated pose with right hand riased.

Right Hand Pointing Down Facing Outward - This is the posture of bestowing a blessing on mankind. If there is a bowl filled ith a plant resting in the left hand of the Buddha, then it is a statue of the Medicine Buddha. This particular statue is from Tibetan Buddhism, as they believe that the knowledge of medicine was a gift from the Buddha to mankind.

Right Hand Making a Circle - This is the mudra for perfection, or the argument of perfection, by the Buddha.

Another thing you might be interested in is that there is a special Buddha attitude for each person depending on which day of the week you were born? (The Thai zodiac puts as much importance on the day of the week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. - as on the actual date of the month). So everyone born on a Monday would have one special posture, while everyone born on a Thrusday would have a different posture. If you would like to see which posture is the one for the day you were born, then please see this blog on Buddha images for each day of the week. See Richard's photo below to get a preview of some different images. But you can learn more about the difference below:

Thai Day Of The Week Poses:

Sunday: The Buddha stands with arms crossed over the stomache, right hand over the left, with the back of the hands facing outward. The eyes are open and this is a pose of mental insight.

Monday: The right hand is raised in the pose of Preventing Calamities or Preventing Relatives from Fighting.

Tueseday: The Buddha in a reclining pose (made famous by Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand). The Buddha lies on His right side, with right hand tucked up under the head, and the left hand lying along the left side of the body.

Wednesday BEFORE Noon: Thai people split wednesday into two different poses - those who are born before noon on Wednesday are represented by the Buddha in the pose of collecting alms, where both hands carry and alms bowl in front of the chest.

Wednesday AFTER Noon: The Buddha sitting with a Monkey and an Elephant, which are giving offerings to the Buddha. This is a rather unsual pose that many westerners may not have ever seen before.

Thursday: The Buddha In Meditation, one of the most well known poses of the Buddha. The Buddha sits in the lotus pose with the hands resting in the lap, both palms facing upwards.

Friday: The Buddha standing in contemplation, with both arms crossing the chest, and the right hand on top of the left, with the backs of the hands facing outward.

Saturday: The Buddha Seated under a Naga (Seven Headed Serpent), again in Meditation. This pose depicts the meditationg Buddha being protected from falling rain by the spread out hood of the Naga.
Thanks again for reading and until next time,

Ms. Jay