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smiling buddha is for happiness, crying buddha is meant to take your sorrow and cry, sleeping buddha is supposed to bring serenity

Buddha Figures Meaning

My understanding is that the little fat ones are not genuine Buddha statues, they are a Chinese good luck dude that Westerners THOUGHT was Buddha. The little fat guys are basically like Chinese Santa Claus. They bring luck and happiness. ^__^ I may be wrong, though!

A "true" Buddha statue is tall and slender.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconography_of_the_Bu...

Depending on the position of the hands there are many different meanings. each hand position is called a mudras - and each gives meaning to the pose.

There's also an openhanded Buddha that's supposed to bring prosperity. Rub his tummy; it feels good!

Superstition says they bring good luck, especially if you pat them on the head or rub them on the belly.

He isn't very modest and he certainly didn't walk wherever He went did he?

Many people who practice what I will refer to as a "traditional Western religion" would consider Buddhism to be "pagan" based on the iconology—especially that found in Tibetan Buddhism. You may be confused because of either: the number of representations of the Buddha shown with different hand gestures (called mudras); or the deities seen in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In all Buddhist traditions there is no God, supreme single creator. As with everything there are two ways to view the statues: one is literal and the other as an allegorical representation with a deeper, hidden meaning.

You seem to be confused by the various depictions of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. Each hand gesture seen of the Buddha is, again, an aid to meditation. One gesture represents giving, another meditation, protection, etc. all of which are positive aspects we strive to achieve.

It is my personal opinion that the iconography in Buddhism regarding deities is a depiction of traits we are supposed to emulate in life. I find that images aid me in focusing my mind on the quality being depicted while I meditate. They are depicted to aid us in our meditations and our dealings in our daily life. Yes, there are many representations of deities but there are also many traits we should strive to follow--wisdom, forgiveness, peacefulness, etc. Now, if you were to take each of these positive aspects and make a picture of them you would begin to understand why there are so many different representations of deities.

To give an additional example: one of the images of Buddha revered by many Buddhists is the Medicine Buddha. Simplistically, he represents health and long-life holding a magical herb in the mudra of giving in his right hand. Many supplicants honor him at this level and some even pray to him to intercede on their behalf for health and the healing of illnesses. However, a deeper understanding is that the Medicine Buddha is not providing a physical remedy but rather a spiritual "medicine", i.e., the Dharma or Teaching, to the trained devotee. Each of the rupas in Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism, be they of Buddhas or deities such as Tara may be viewed in a similar vein as is my understanding. Tibetan Buddhism is rich in such symbolic representations.

For example, Tara in Tibetan Buddhism manifests to me that mercy and compassion are to be swiftly available to everyone; that it is immediate when sought and never ending. On either side of her is a lotus blossom -- one in full bloom and the other not as yet opened. Her right hand is in the gesture (mudra) representing "giving" while her left hand is in the position of "protection." Tara's right foot is extended out of the lotus position to show her readiness to come to the aid of the supplicant swiftly. Each of the deities, again in my personal opinion, represent an aspect of the Buddha. These same qualities are also in each of us since we all possess innate Buddha-nature.

There are other images in Tibetan Buddhism that represent actual historical figures such as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan Buddhism, Quan Yin in Chinese Buddhism, Kannon in Japanese Buddhism) who was a disciple of the Buddha.

Chenrezig in Tibetan iconology is frequently depicted as having four arms and hands. Now, it would be foolish to believe in the existence of a four-armed individual; however, the four arms signify the four immeasurables: immeasurable loving-kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity. In a similar manner one needs to interpret the physical representations of the other deities, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas as seen in statuary.

Quan Yin in Chinese Buddhism is depicted in a feminine form as the mother of all Buddhas holding a vase filled with compassion to give to those in need. Since every Buddha is viewed as the manifestation of ultimate compassion, one can understand the meaning behind the representation of Quan Yin.

We can liken these images in much the same manner we view religious and secular icons in our traditional Western world. The only difference being that we have been raised around these Western icons and, as such, they are familiar to us. We don't question them if we even notice them at all.

I hope this is of some help.

May all be at peace.

John

eat good ??..