Reclining Buddha
A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana.[1] He is lying on his right side, his head resting on a cushion or relying on his right elbow, supporting his head with his hand. After the Buddha's death, his followers decide to build a statue of him lying down.
This pattern seems to have emerged at the same time as other representations of the Buddha in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.
In Thai art[]
For Thai Buddha attitudes (Thai: ปางพระพุทธรูป; parang Phra phut ta roupe), the reclining Buddha (Thai: ปางไสยาสน์; paang sai yat) can refer to three different episodes, whilst the attribute of each remains unclear.
- Nirvana attitude (Thai: ปางปรินิพพาน; paang pari nipphan)
- Teaching the Rahu Asurin attitude (Thai: ปางโปรดอสุรินทราหู; paang proad asurin tra rahu)
- Sleeping attitude (Thai: ปางทรงพระสุบิน; paang song phra subin)
Notable examples[]
Burma:
- (Mawlamyaing) - 182.9 metres (600 ft)[3]
- (Monywa) - 101 metres (331 ft)[3]
- (Bago) - 82 metres (269 ft)[3]
- (Dawei) - 73.6 metres (241 ft)[3]
- Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple (Yangon) - 66 metres (217 ft)[3]
- Shwethalyaung Buddha (Bago) - 54.8 metres (180 ft)[3]
- Manuha Temple (Bagan)
- Phowintaung, near Monywa
- West side of the Baphuon in Angkor
- Monolithic Buddha of the Phnom Kulen (lying on his left side)
- Golden gilded Buddha on Sambok Mountain in Kratié Province (on his right side)
- Dafo Temple, Zhangye
- Bhamala Buddha Parinirvana which is 1,800 years old, oldest in the world.[4]
- Cave #26 of Ajanta
- Kong��bu-ji at Mount Kōya.
- Nanzoin temple, in Fukuoka Prefecture.
- Wat Chayamangkalaram in Pulau Tikus, Penang
- Sam Poh Tong Temple in Ipoh, Perak
- Wat Phothivihan in Tumpat, Kelantan
- Dambulla
- Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa (12th century)
- Buddha in Nirvana of Ajina-Tepa (13 meters long), on display in the National Museum in Dushanbe
- Wat Dhammachaksemaram (reclining Buddha of the 7th century in Dvaravati style coming from Muang Sema)
- Wat Lokaya Sutharam in Ayutthaya
- Wat Pho of Bangkok
- Linh Son Temple in Santa Fe, Texas
See also[]
- Reclining Vishnu
- Bhishma on bed of arrows
References[]
- ^ "The Discourse on The Great Parinirvana" (PDF). www.themindingcentre.org. p. 140. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
- ^ "Guide to the Wild East of Cambodia – what to do and where to go in the Green Triangle".
- ^ a b c d e f Ma Thanegi (February 2014). "Chaukhtutgyi Reclining Buddha Image" (PDF). My Magical Myanmar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "Footprints: No sleep lost over broken Buddha".
External links[]
Media related to Statues of the Buddha reclining at Wikimedia Commons
- Buddha statues