Buddhism is a religious philosophy that, unlike many other traditional religions does not believe in a personal God that punishes our wrong-doings and rewards our good deeds individually. It was originally begun as an atheistic philosophy. It is based on the Noble Eightfold path and the Four Truths. The Buddha statue represents the “Enlightened One.” The Four Noble Truths are: that suffering is part of life, craving is what causes suffering, the suffering stops when the craving stops, and that the only way to conquer the cravings and suffering is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path Is:

Right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. As the Enlightened One the Buddha statue represents other values as well. The individual is not recognized in Buddhism. All that happens to individuals is based on an impersonal moral “karma.” Once an individual follows all of the steps on the Noble Eightfold path they reach an enlightened pure non-existent state called “nirvana.”

The First Statue

It is believed that the first Buddha statue was not created until four or five hundred years after the death of Buddha out of respect. Therefore, the statues are not an exact replication of the person and there is no “right way” to represent him. The artist had artistic freedom of expression in that area. But, there are certain characteristics and symbolic elements that you will find at least one of in every Buddha statue.

• If the hands are resting in the lap this represents meditation.

• The hands crossing over the chest are a symbol of Dharma-or a state of “being.”

• In the earliest Buddha statue, the figure has both hands raised with the ring finger on the left hand touching the thumb and the index finger on the right hand is touching the thumb to make a circle with the three other fingers held aright. It is not certain what this symbolizes.

Buddhism Exists In Three Forms Today

The first is Mahayana, which reveres Buddha as a God like figure and still uses the Buddha statue to represent him. It is called “the Greater Vehicle” and is the most practiced form of Buddhism in the world today. The second is practiced by just over a third of the Buddhists in the world and is called Theravada, or the “Doctrine of the Elders.” It is atheistic in nature and philosophy but still reveres the Buddha statue. Vajrayana is the least common type of Buddhism and uses the occult and shamanism. It is practiced by just 6 percent of the Buddhists.

Many people looking on the Buddha statue find it a source of happiness and serenity. It is a symbol of the end of suffering and true peace. The Buddhist philosophy that we must strive for perfection and control over our personal cravings to work for the good of all is not a bad philosophy. If society as a whole would adopt at least some of these concepts there would be much more peace and tolerance in the world-we could begin to come to a state of nirvana.

In the Western culture, the most popular meditation is a type of meditation that is similar to a chant meditation, but simpler. Basically it involves a repetition of a word. This has misled many people into believing that this is the only way to meditate. Here’s a list of common meditations.

Chant meditation: Traditionally, monks would give thanks to their teachers as well try to gain insight from them through chants, which they would repeat over and over again. Other chants involve invoking a certain kind of feeling (often times love and compassion). You can create your own chant. This kind of meditation is great for changing a deep seated habit within yourself.

TM meditation: This is the most popular form of meditation in the West. Like chant meditation, it involves repetition, except in this case it is just one or two words. you have seen many different spins to this meditation. Some people use two words, others just one. You should do what is most comfortable for you. Experiment.

Sound meditation: You focus on a sound you hear. Many people choose to meditate to music (including me). Interestingly, it does not have to be relaxing music. Occasionally I will find it very easy to meditate to hard rock. Experiment, and see what works and when.

Body meditation: In this meditation, you focus on the sensations you feel. If you’re sitting down, you focus on how your butt feels on the chair. If you’re lying down, you can study how your body mass is spread across the bed.

Sight meditation: This form of meditation is great for beginners who wish to transition to inner-object meditation. You choose an object to look at and you focus on its shape, color, size. Keep that image in your mind. For example, Buddhists would choose a statue of Buddha to meditate on.

Inner-object meditation: This is when your object of focus is something that naturally occurs within your body, such as your breath or heartbeat. You study the occurrence as you would with any other meditation (you could say that TM and Chant is inner-object meditation).

Object-less meditation: This meditation is essential for increasing your self-awareness. The name of the meditation stands for what IT IS NOT. In this form of meditation, you pay attention to anything and everything to pops into your mind, and then let it go so another activity can take place.

That covers all the common ones. we have to mention that meditation can take any form. You can meditate on walking, and call it “walking meditation”. You can focus on playing your guitar, and call it the “guitar meditation”. It’s less important as to what your object of meditation is, than the process involved in the meditation. The process across these meditations is always the same.