Nepalese-Chinese style Bodhisattva from the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Lacquer, cloth, traces of blue, gold, and green paint, and gold leaf H: 58.5 W: 43.3 D: 29.5 cm. 13th century, Yuan dynasty, China.
CC rosemanios at Flickr.com.
In "Buddhas and Bodhisats," Parnassus, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Feb., 1940), pp. 26-30+51, B. A. de V. Bailey describes some of the aspects of the iconography of the Buddha. He says the first known effigies of the Buddha come from about 100 B.C., centuries after the death of Siddharta. These are at the north Indian site of Mathura, but it wasn't until the Gupta era (320-600 A.D.) that the Buddha developed as a religious symbol. The Buddha may be standing or seated. In "the seated adamantine pose", his legs are locked together with both feet visible and the soles turned upwards. Hands may be in the dhyana (meditation pose) or abhaya mudra (protection gesture). Long ear lobes were weighted down by earrings in early representations, but by later came to symbolize wisdom. You can see this in the image to the right.
The hair is usually cut short with curls over the head, as shown in the image to the left. This may show that Prince Siddharta cut his long hair when he renounced his patrimony. There is a projection on the skull called the ushnisha where the soul is supposed to be located. There is usually a tuft of hair (urna) that indicates predestination to enlightenment. Buddha usually wears a garment over his left shoulder with the fabric in stylized folds and a bare right shoulder. To learn about the way these garments were draped, see: "Prolegomena to the Study of the Buddha's Dress in Chinese Sculpture," by A. B. Griswold. Artibus Asiae, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1963), pp. 85-131.
For more on the iconography of the Buddha, see:
"The Problem of Proportion and Style in Indian Art History," by John F. Mostelle. Art Journal, Vol. 49, No. 4, New Approaches to South Asian Art (Winter, 1990), pp. 388-394.
"A Long Roll of Buddhist Images. III," by Helen B. Chapin and Alexander C. Soper. Artibus Asiae, Vol. 32, No. 4 (1970), pp. 259-289+291-306.
I must admit I started out to answer the question of why an ascetic like the Buddha would wind up depicted with the proverbial "Buddha belly". Unverified Internet searches suggest it may be a function of Chinese Buddhism, but Chinese Buddhas are not always fat and I don't think Indian-Nepali Buddhas are always thin.
Do you know about the sculptural representations of the Buddha belly? If so, please post in the comments.
Comments
Hi there. The round-bellied Buddha statues are unrelated to the historical Buddha Gautama Shakyamuni but are associated with a Chinese monk called Budai (jp. Hotei) and sometimes the future Buddha Maitreya.
As an aside Shakyamuni Buddha was an ascetic before he became the Buddha and part of him becoming a Buddha was his rejection of asceticism (hence his ‘middle way’ between hedonism and asceticism). So its not really right to say the Buddha was an ascetic.
Thanks for the interesting blog.
It is true that often the Chinese god of good fortune Hotei is often mistaken for the historical Buddha. Budai/Hotei was incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon with the introduction of the religion to China. Budai is distinguished by his excessively large belly, the sack he has with him, an earring, etc.
It is also the case that many statues of Buddhas show a full (slightly rounded) belly, and the iconography behind this is: the rounded belly indicates a full breath, linking the figure, who is seated in a meditation pose (Budai is typical not seated thus), with a deeply indrawn breath, i.e., as engaged in meditative practice.
Oops … not sure how I managed it but I somehow pasted your name (N. S. Gill) into the name field of my comment (1) above. Sorry!
Thanks Andy and Jon, for both the information and correction.
buddhism was brought to china and japan and
there were hundreds of years of strife and war
so it seems logical buddhism took the face of
chinese culture.the seven dwarfs from snow
white originate in china,seven pupils,attendents of buddha(not clear)a fat
one,lazy one,sleepy one etc.the fat one means
prosperity in china.married people were given
statues of hoteis for good luck and wealth and
lots of children.i do not know if it’s older
than buddha,fat people are eternal.you only
see fat buddha’s in china.there is so much
more before buddha,i hope it all doesn’t get lost.
I know why there is a Buddha belly, it is because the Chinese think it is very good for you to breath in your belly the way a child does and , indeed , this is the healthiest for your body. When you breath deeply into your lungs it gives the appearance of having large belly and breathing is very important for meditation especially when you are doing the washing up!
Why are so many effigies of Buddha (often numbering in the thousands) present in the ancient temples we see? This puzzles us.