Buddha Appearance In Buddhist religious belief there are Four Bodies of a Buddha: [1] nirmanakaya, [2] sambhogakaya, [3] dharmakaya and [4] svabhavikakaya. The four can also be understood as aspects or dimensions of a fully enlightened buddha. The last two of the four are abstract concepts and are not typically represented in art. The first two bodies are commonly represented in art. Nirmanakaya, the first of the buddha bodies is represented by the usual form of a buddha such as Shakyamuni, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha and constitutes the first of the Eleven Figurative Forms in Himalayan and Tibetan art. In their standard appearance and in a religious context they are referred to as nirmanakaya meaning they are depicted as monks with the ushnisha on the crown of the head, dot (urna) on the forehead and three lines marking the neck, etc. As sambhogakaya representations the buddhas typically appear in Peaceful Deity (bodhisattva/god/deva) appearance with a youthful form, sixteen years of age, adorned with jewel ornaments crowns, and silk-like clothing - typical of Indian heavenly gods. In Tantric Buddhist art there are many deities that are buddhas but do not appear in Buddha Appearance, such as Vajradhara, Vajrasattva and all of the meditational deities (ishtadevata) such as Hevajra, Chakrasamvara and Kalachakra. In Tantra the well known deity subject such as Tara is regarded as a fully enlightened buddha that has chosen to a appear in a peaceful goddess-like form rather than in Buddha Appearance. Buddhas that function as meditational deities can have the appearance of any one of the five types of deities from the list of Eleven Figurative Forms: peaceful, semi-peaceful/semi-wrathful, wrathful, animal-headed, and warrior. himalayanart.org/pages/buddhaappearance/index.html
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 19:29:24 +0000
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