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Gilt Bronze Buddha Shakyamuni
Gilt Bronze Buddha Shakyamuni, the meditative figure with tightly curled hair is seated in dhyanasana on a double lotus base, and wears a robe with scrolling floral borders that fall in pleats onto the base, one hand in Varada mudra.
Height 6 in., 15.2 cm.
A Sino-Tibetan Gilt Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni
Tibet, 18th century.
Condition:
Overall good condition with light surface scratches. Minor nicks to the palms
*Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (lit. ’the awakened one’), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia (eastern part of Indo-Gangetic Plain, located in present-day Nepal and northern India), during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal,[b] to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana (“final release from conditioned existence”).
According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism,[10] leading to freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His core teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes ethical training and kindness toward others, and meditative practices such as sense restraint, mindfulness, dhyana (meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are the concepts of the five skandhas and dependent origination, describing how all dharmas (both mental states and concrete ‘things’) come into being, and cease to be, depending on other dharmas, lacking an existence on their own svabhava).
A couple of centuries after his death, he came to be known by the title Buddha, which means ‘Awakened One’ or ‘Enlightened One’. His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the Vinaya, his codes for monastic practice, and the Sutta Piṭaka, a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects through an oral tradition. Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma, biographies of the Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales, and additional discourses, i.e., the Mahayana sutras.
Buddhism spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, evolving into a variety of traditions and practices. The Buddha is recognized in other religious traditions, such as Hinduism, where he is considered an avatar of Vishnu. His legacy is not only encapsulated in religious institutions, but in the iconography and art inspired by his life and teachings, ranging from aniconic symbols to iconic depictions in various cultural styles.
Siddhārtha Gautama and Buddha Shakyamuni
According to Donald Lopez Jr., “… he tended to be known as either Buddha or Sakyamuni in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, and as either Gotama Buddha or Samana Gotama (‘the ascetic Gotama’) in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.”
Buddha, “Awakened One” or “Enlightened One”, is the masculine form of budh (बुध् ), “to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again”,”to awaken’to open up’ (as does a flower)”, “one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge”.[20] It is not a personal name, but a title for those who have attained bodhi (awakening, enlightenment). Buddhi, the power to “form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand”,[18] is the faculty which discerns truth (satya) from falsehood.
The name of his clan was Gautama (Pali: Gotama). His given name, “Siddhārtha” (the Sanskrit form; the Pali rendering is “Siddhattha”; in Tibetan it is “Don grub”; in Chinese “Xidaduo”; in Japanese “Shiddatta/Shittatta”; in Korean “Siltalta”) means “He Who Achieves His Goal”. The clan name of Gautama means “descendant of Gotama”, “Gotama” meaning “one who has the most light”,[22] and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted the names of their house priests.[23][24]
While the term “Buddha” is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term “Buddha” is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 269–232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism.[25][26] Ashoka’s Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor’s pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha’s birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni[j] (Brahmi script: 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī, “Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas”).
Śākyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि, [ɕaːkjɐmʊnɪ]) means “Sage of the Shakyas”.
