Buddharupa

Buddharūpa (बुद्धरूप, literally, "Form of the Awakened One") is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.

Commonalities

Despite cultural and regional differences in the interpretations of texts about the life of Gautama Buddha, there are some general guidelines to the attributes of a Buddharupa:

The elongated earlobes are vestiges of his life as a prince, when he wore extravagant jewellery. The bump at the top of the head is the ushnisha and represents spirituality, wisdom, and awakening.

Regional variations

From a gaunt, seated ascetic to a laughing big-bellied wanderer, depictions of the Buddha vary widely across cultures.

Proportions

The image of the Buddha started to emerge from the 1st century CE in Northern India, developed in Gandhara and Mathura. The art of Gandhara was influenced by Greek art leading to the development of Greco-Buddhist art with anatomically well-proportioned and realistic figure of Buddha. One of the most influential Buddhist art was the Gupta art and the later Amaravati style. From India the depiction of Buddha spread to the rest of Asia. The Buddharupas of India, Sri Lanka, Javanese Sailendra art in Indonesia, and Khmer art of Cambodia usually depict a well proportioned figure, but sometimes he is shown emaciated, in recollection of the Buddha's years of ascetic practices. Japanese Buddharupas are often very square and stolid, while Indian and Southeast Asian ones often have thinner figures.

Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He was born in Nepal and is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

South Asia

South Asia or Southern Asia is a term used to represent the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan SAARC countries and, for some authorities, adjoining countries to the west and east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably.

The current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia. In addition, with deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, and the Tibet Autonomous Region are included as well. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all eight nations comprising South Asia.

Tara (Buddhism)

Tara (Sanskrit: तारा, tārā; Tib. སྒྲོལ་མ, Dölma) or Ārya Tārā, also known as Jetsun Dölma (Tibetan language:rje btsun sgrol ma) in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. In Japan, she is known as Tara Bosatsu (多羅菩薩), and little-known as Duōluó Púsà (多羅菩薩) in Chinese Buddhism.

Tara is a tantric meditation deity whose practice is used by practitioners of the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism to develop certain inner qualities and understand outer, inner and secret teachings about compassion and emptiness. Tara is actually the generic name for a set of Buddhas or bodhisattvas of similar aspect. These may more properly be understood as different aspects of the same quality, as bodhisattvas are often considered metaphors for Buddhist virtues.

The most widely known forms of Tārā are:

Great Buddha

Great Buddha or Giant Buddha may refer to: