Buddha

The word Buddha comes from Sanskrit and means "the awakened one". It is not a proper name but a title. The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, lived around 2,500 years ago in northern India and attained awakening under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. In the Tibetan tradition he is the Buddha of our age, one of countless Buddhas, and awakening is seen as a potential present in every being: Buddha nature.

Tibetan art knows many depictions of the Buddha, each with its own meaning. Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, touches the earth with his right hand and calls on it as witness to his awakening. Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, sits in meditation, his hands resting in his lap. The Medicine Buddha appears in a deep blue form and holds a medicinal plant in his hand. Placing a Buddha statue on the altar keeps Buddha nature before your eyes every day.

Our pieces show the Buddha as a statue in brass, copper or stone, on thangkas and wall hangings, on singing bowls and prayer beads, as pendants and amulets or on bags. Statues and thangkas are handcrafted by Tibetan artisans in the Himalayas, so no two are exactly alike. Some statues are gilded; on others, an artist paints the face by hand with gold, and sometimes the body with colour.