SHAKYAMUNI Buddha - Partially Gilded 6"
Partial gilded Shakyamuni Buddha statue. Beautiful detail, hand made in Patan, Nepal by experienced artist in the age old tradition of lost wax method.
This Buddha Shakyamuni displays the “earth touching mudra” with his right hand, while resting his left hand on his lap in meditation posture.
This classic mudra bears great importance and significance for buddhist practitioners.
At the moment just before his complete and perfect enlightenment, the Buddha was challenged to defeat mara for the very last time. Mara, the demon symbolizing our innermost obscurations, is said to have told the Buddha that the seat of complete awakening is his, meaning still subject to his domain and influence. He summoned his army of demons as witnesses to this claim and challenged the Buddha to refute it.
The Buddha, awaken, resolved and devoid of obscurations, touched the ground, the basis, thereby summoning the earth itself to testify that awakening was the fruition of Buddha’s perfections, and that it is indeed an attainment outside mara’s domain. It is said that the earth rumbled and roared countless times, and mara was irreversibly defeated.
Thereby, this mudra symbolizes the unshakeable truth of awakening, as well as the firmness, determination and resolve of Shakyamuni Buddha.
This mudra also represents the union of the Buddha’s skillful means and wisdom. The means, compassion, is gestured by the palm touching the earth, bestowing buddha activities upon sentient beings. Wisdom is symbolized by the left palm, facing up, in meditation.
Buddha Shakyamuni Statue: Made out of copper and gold plate with gold leaf on the face. He offers limitless compassion and blessings to all beings in the three realms.
Size: 6" X 4" lotus.
