Mouse Over Image to Zoom or Click to EnlargeDescription
This
masterpiece hand-crafted copper Shakyamuni Buddha statue deserves
its own introduction. This piece was made by Diljan, a revered Newari
artist in Nepal and it is absolutely stunning!
Brenda, Dharma Sculpture
The image of the Buddha presents unique issues for artists, who must portray a figure at once human and divine, beyond boundaries of gender and time, who personifies the ultimate levels of wisdom and compassion. Both his achievement of transcendence and humanness (for he is often portrayed as teacher) must be served in creating his image. This has without a doubt been accomplished by this master artisan. From the robust body of this beautiful Buddha and his serene expression to the hypnotizing gaze in his eyes!
The Buddha Shakyamuni, at the moment of enlightenment, invoked the earth as witness, as indicated by the fingers of his right hand, which spread downward in bhumisparsha mudra, "the earth touching gesture". As the Buddhist sutras narrate, the sun and moon stood still, and all the creatures of the world came to offer respect to the Supreme One who had broken through the boundaries of egocentric existence. All Buddhist art celebrates this moment and leads the viewer toward the Buddha's experience of selfless and unsurpassed enlightenment.
Buddhist art pictures the Buddha in numerous manifestations, but always as a model of human potential, never as a historically identifiable person. All forms of the Buddha, however, are commonly shown seated on a lotus throne (as seen here), a symbol of the mind's transcendent nature.
"Be a light unto yourself," Buddha Shakyamuni declared at the end of his life. Become a Buddha, an awakened being, he urged, but never a blind follower of tradition.
This Buddha statue has the distinguishing marks that designate his celestial status, such as the cranial bump (ushnisha) and the conspicuous mark in the middle of his forehead (urna). He wears a distinctive robe elaborately decorated with elegant flowing floral motifs. In the back of the base is the wheel and deer emblem. The Buddhist emblem of a golden eight-spoked wheel flanked by two deer represents the Buddha's first discourse, which he gave in the Deer Park at Sarnath, near Varanasi. This discourse is known as the 'first turning of the wheel of dharma', when the Buddha taught the doctrines of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path to five Indian mendicants.
The arch of this piece is decorated with conch shells; a symbol of the proclamation of the Buddha's teachings. The conch symbolizes the truth of the Dharma.
There are 4 separate pieces to this statue: the Buddha, the lotus base, the throne and the arch. The crown and jewels are inlaid with semi-precious stones.
This piece is unquestionably a contemporary masterpiece!!
Brenda, Dharma Sculpture
The image of the Buddha presents unique issues for artists, who must portray a figure at once human and divine, beyond boundaries of gender and time, who personifies the ultimate levels of wisdom and compassion. Both his achievement of transcendence and humanness (for he is often portrayed as teacher) must be served in creating his image. This has without a doubt been accomplished by this master artisan. From the robust body of this beautiful Buddha and his serene expression to the hypnotizing gaze in his eyes!
The Buddha Shakyamuni, at the moment of enlightenment, invoked the earth as witness, as indicated by the fingers of his right hand, which spread downward in bhumisparsha mudra, "the earth touching gesture". As the Buddhist sutras narrate, the sun and moon stood still, and all the creatures of the world came to offer respect to the Supreme One who had broken through the boundaries of egocentric existence. All Buddhist art celebrates this moment and leads the viewer toward the Buddha's experience of selfless and unsurpassed enlightenment.
Buddhist art pictures the Buddha in numerous manifestations, but always as a model of human potential, never as a historically identifiable person. All forms of the Buddha, however, are commonly shown seated on a lotus throne (as seen here), a symbol of the mind's transcendent nature.
"Be a light unto yourself," Buddha Shakyamuni declared at the end of his life. Become a Buddha, an awakened being, he urged, but never a blind follower of tradition.
This Buddha statue has the distinguishing marks that designate his celestial status, such as the cranial bump (ushnisha) and the conspicuous mark in the middle of his forehead (urna). He wears a distinctive robe elaborately decorated with elegant flowing floral motifs. In the back of the base is the wheel and deer emblem. The Buddhist emblem of a golden eight-spoked wheel flanked by two deer represents the Buddha's first discourse, which he gave in the Deer Park at Sarnath, near Varanasi. This discourse is known as the 'first turning of the wheel of dharma', when the Buddha taught the doctrines of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path to five Indian mendicants.
The arch of this piece is decorated with conch shells; a symbol of the proclamation of the Buddha's teachings. The conch symbolizes the truth of the Dharma.
There are 4 separate pieces to this statue: the Buddha, the lotus base, the throne and the arch. The crown and jewels are inlaid with semi-precious stones.
This piece is unquestionably a contemporary masterpiece!!