Buddhism Posts Archives - Page 4 of 6 -

Assassination Attempts on the Great Gautama Buddha

It is little known that during Gautama Buddha’s life on earth, he was not completely free of dissenters and discord. Despite his serene and patient practice, Gautama was not without threat. Just as every great spiritual or powerful leader in earth’s history, he faced jealous followers wanting to take his place in the world. It is said that Gautama’s cousin, a monk by the name of Devadatta, was the worst of them all, attempting to take Gautama’s life on multiple occasions. Legend has it, out of jealousy, Devadatta tried to undermine the Buddha and declared that he be given the chance to lead the sangha. When this proved unsuccessful he tried to kill the great teacher to claim his following for himself.

2b45a — View all Buddha Statues from Lotus Sculpture

His first attempt involved hiring a group of archers to shoot at Buddha during his meditations, but as they approached the Buddha, they became overcome and began laying down their bows. Instead of shooting, the archers now devoted themselves to him instead. As one might imagine, this only served to anger Devadatta more. In his next attempt Devadatta himself rolled a great boulder down a hill directly in Gautama’s path. Luckily, the boulder split in two along the way with one half only grazing the divine Buddha’s foot. Again diminished, Devadatta let loose a violent elephant to trample Buddha and everyone around him. As all his murderous plots proved unsuccessful, Devadatta began to form breakaway following, attempting to recruit the Buddha’s followers for himself. Although he managed to claim a handful, they all eventually made their way back to the Awakened one.

It is hard to believe that the great Awakened One could be met with disdain by any. But just as every great spiritual leader, there were those who threatened to undermine his teachings.

New Shipment of Thai Brass Buddha Statues from Bangkok

In an age of diluted markets in which lean manufacturing processes aim to flood the economy with low priced products, one-of-a-kind, Thai Buddha statues, like those of native Thai artisans, lay unseen to most of the world. Lotus Sculpture gives local Thai artisans new life, sharing their priceless creative masterpieces with the world.

Upon first traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1995 Kyle Tortora recognized the need for these beautiful hand-made Thai Buddha statues to be shared on a global scale.

It became increasingly clear that unless traveling across Thailand in person, purchase of these unrivaled Buddha sculptures was nearly impossible to the outside world. Lotus Sculpture was started to bridge the gap between local Asian artists and western tastes for these stunning works of Buddhist statuary.

Thai Brass Buddha — View All our Newly Arrived Thai Brass Statues

Kyle regularly travels to Southeast Asia to visit with local artisans and hand-pick Buddha statues to buy directly, sometimes a year in advance of production. By buying directly from local Thai artisans, Lotus Sculpture is able to bypass any middle man and give struggling artisans the financial support they need to expand their businesses. Since making his dream a reality by founding Lotus Sculpture in 2002, Tortora has personally watched small two person workshops grow to employ over 35 artisans.

The casting techniques used to create Thai Brass Buddhist statues are a true art form that have been passed on for generations within local families. Not only does Lotus Sculpture get to partake in giving an artistic platform to these irreplaceable works of Buddhist art, it is able to bring global enterprise to those without the resources to do so themselves.

In a world where quantity often reins champion over quality, it is the aim of Lotus Sculpture to give life to an industry that has often struggled. With the arrival of its newest shipment of over a 200 Thai brass Buddha statues directly from Bangkok, Lotus Sculpture once again champions local Thai artists without the opportunity to share their creative visions on a mass scale.

Watch for all the newly arrived Thai Brass Buddha statues as they are added daily in our New Arrivals Section

King Jayavarman VII Builder of Angkor Wat

Cambodian King Jayavarman VII Statue 37" — Click here to view this stunning statue of Cambodian King Jayavarman VII Statue 37″

With regards to the arts, King Jayavarman VII was responsible for the construction of numerous temples in the Angkor region and in other provinces. King Jayavarman VII was further championed as the greatest king of Angkor for liberating and unifying the country. His legacy lives on today as many of the structures remaining today within Angkor Wat were built during his reign. At the center of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple, famous for its distinct 50 towers, each bearing the large faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshavara on all four sides. These faces are thought to be copied from the actual face of King Jayavarman VII, whose smiles are so gentle that it is often referred to as the Khmer smile. This great king was a devout Buddhist of the Mahayana sect.

The Origins of Budai: Commonly Confused with Gautama Buddha

Fat & Happy Buddha Statue by Lotus Sculpture — View all our Laughing, Fat and Happy Budai statues from Lotus Sculpture

Many Americans mistakenly identify the Budai as that of the Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. The Budai is often depicted holding a cloth sack and is commonly referred to as the laughing Buddha or the fat & happy Buddha. It is believed that the Budai is an incarnation of Maitreya or the future Buddha form that will succeed the historic Gautama Buddha by appearing on earth someday in the future at a time when Dharma will have been forgotten, in order to re-teach the pure dharma. He is said to appear on earth one day and achieve complete enlightenment, just as the historic Gautama, teaching the world his wisdom.

In Buddhist folk traditions it is said that the Budai is a man of good and loving character and is admired for his genuine happiness, plenitude and contentment. A popular belief is that rubbing his belly will bring about good luck, wealth, and overall prosperity. Incorporate a Fat & Happy Buddha Statue from Lotus Sculpture into your life and rub his belly for good luck and happiness!

Attributes of a Buddha Statue: The All-knowing, All-Seeing & All-Hearing

“I am the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, the Knower of the Way, the Opener of the Way, and the Preacher of the Way. Come to me, all you gods, men, and demons, to hear the law”.
~Lotus Sutra, Chapter Five~

Stone Gupta Buddha Statue — View all our Buddha statues including this stone Gupta period Buddha statue

Buddhism and Buddhist art has traveled a long way from its simple beginnings. In the earliest Buddhist art of India, the Buddha was not represented in human form. His presence was indicated instead by signs, such as an empty seat, footprints, or space beneath a parasol. It wasn’t until the 1^st century AD, when Buddhism expanded outside of India, when the human image of one Buddha came to dominate the artistic scene. The Golden Age, otherwise known as the Gupta period, from fourth to sixth century AD, adopted an ‘ideal image’ of the Buddha. Gupta Buddha statues, popularized with their eyes cast down, as if in a meditation state, and enriched with a spiritual aura, became the model for future generations of artists.

Throughout history, artists have given their own spiritual interpretation of the Buddha statue, but a few physical non-human characteristics continue to represent the nature of the Buddha.

“The All-Knowing”: The Bump of Knowledge; the uppermost bump at the head of a Lord Buddha statue. This symbolizes spiritual wisdom and a fully-developed top chakra. Chakras are believed to be centers of the body which a person can collect energy. This bump is typically covered with spiral shaped curls of hair that symbolize enlightenment.

“The All-Seeing”: The Urna, commonly translated as the third-eye, is a circular dot positioned in between the eyebrows of a Buddha statue. It is viewed as an auspicious mark and symbol of the Buddhas enlightenment; his ability to see past our mundane universe of suffering and see the true nature of the world. Legend also says that Buddha had one strand of white hair in the center of his forehead, from which emitted rays of light to enlighten the world. Some traditions believe the location of the Urna is the sixth chakra – center of energy and wheel of light.

“The All-Hearing”: As the art of Buddha sculpture evolved, superhuman characteristics became standard traits carved into the Buddha image. Among them are webbed fingers, very long arms, and long earlobes. The elongated ears are typically present in any given Buddha statue. This is an expression of the highest degree of respect. Long earlobes came to be a symbol of all who achieves enlightenment.

Page 4 Of 6