Buddhist Symbols
The Image Of Buddha
The Buddha image is a symbol of an ideal, the enlightened one. It represents perfect compassion and perfect wisdom. The Buddha image is not an idol as many non-Buddhists think. While it is placed upon the altar, it also exists in our minds and hearts. Buddhists do not worship the image; In fact, the word “worship” as it is known in the West does not exist in Buddhism. The word “Buddha” means Enlightened One. Buddha was a man, a human being, just as you and I are, but he was enlightened; that is to say, he came to understand the truth about life and the world and he lived that truth.
Because the Buddha image is a symbol of our ideal, the images made in India are the ideal for Hindus; images in Thailand are the highest type for the Thais; similarly, images in Japan are the ideal for the Japanese. The Gandhara school of art (Graeco-Buddhist) developed a type of Buddha image that may be acceptable to Caucasians as Buddhism increases in the West. The expression, “beautiful as a Greek god,” suggests the acceptance of an ideal in this image.
The image is the creation of an artist representing the highest ideal of the perfect one. The Buddha image is not absolutely necessary for a Buddhist temple. Without the Buddha image we could still have temples. However, it is a point of focus. It is a reminder. We obtain inspiration by which we encourage ourselves to attain enlightenment.
There are many different statues of Buddhas as well as those of Gautama Buddha (pictured above), the historical Buddha. There are many statues of the ideal Buddha such as the Amitabha Buddha, Vairocana Buddha, Bhesajyaguru, and others. The Amitabha or Amida Buddha is the ideal Buddha that existed in the mind and heart of Gautama Buddha. Amitabha Buddha is the symbol of eternal life and boundless light or the symbol of compassion and wisdom. Amitabha was the living principle or essence of life of Gautama Buddha and in turn it is our own living principle and essence of life. The Vairocana Buddha is the symbol of the source of life, growth and activities just as the sun is the source of life, growth and all activities in our physical world.
Flowers
Flowers are beautiful for decoration. However, flowers in Buddhist temples symbolize the teaching of transience. The Buddha taught that all things in this world are in constant change, and nothing is permanent. Flowers are beautiful in the morning but fade in the heat of the day. The flowers remind us of this constant change of things and life. We are faced with the facts of old age, sickness, and death, regardless of whether we desire them or not.
Incense
Incense is used in the same sense as in the offering of flowers. It is offered in memory of the Buddha, and is another form of meditation. It is a symbol which signifies the spirit of self purification and self-dedication. Incense has the potential of producing a sweet fragrance, but only when it burns does it diffuse this fragrance.
Incense has different colors and different shapes. Some kinds of incense are powdered; others are in the form of sticks or cakes of various shapes. There are also different colors: purple, black, yellow, green, and brown. But regardless of the shape or color, when incense burns it transcends its individual shape and color and becomes one in the smoke. This symbolizes the transcending of individual selfishness or ego to become one with all others, to become one with the oneness of life.
Meditation And Beads
Then are no prayers in Buddhism. The words we recite are meditations and not prayers. We recite to ourselves the virtues of the Buddha and his Doctrine so that we may acquire such mental dispositions as are favorable to the attainment of similar qualities in our own minds, in however small a degree. According to Buddhism, the universe is governed by everlasting unchangeable laws of righteousness, not by any Supreme being who can hear and answer prayers. These laws are so perfect that no one, no god or man, can change them by praising them or by crying out against them.
Meditation beads (mala in Sanskrit and Pali and ojuzu in Japanese, pictured above) are a symbol of unity and harmony. The strand is composed of beads strung on a string, each bead representing an individual. However, the bead is not isolated and independent but is connected with all others to compose the whole strand.
Candlelight
Candlelight is a symbol of wisdom. In our physical world we see things through the medium of light. If we do not have sun or electric light, this world is so dark that we cannot see anything. In our spiritual and mental world the physical light cannot help us to see. We see only through wisdom. We stumble many times in daily living because we lack wisdom. Wisdom is a light through which we understand the truth about life. Wisdom, which is very important in Buddhism, is differentiated from knowledge. Knowledge, or learning, is something acquired from external sources. We can acquire knowledge through reading, listening to lectures, etc., but wisdom cannot be acquired externally: it must be created within one’s own life. Wisdom is obtained only through immediate and direct experience.
Gongs
Gongs are used in Buddhist Temples and homes for three purposes: to announce the time of a meeting; to mark different phases of services or tempos of chanting; and, as a symbol aiding in mediation--when a beautiful sound is heard, we listen to its resonance through to the soundless sound upon which depends the meditation.
Gassho
Gassho is the highest form of respect symbolizing unity. Gassho is performed by putting the palms of both hands together in front of your heart. One palm represents the subject, the other represents the object. The object may be the Buddha, teacher, mother, wife or husband, or whatever one chooses. It symbolizes the unity of oneself and the others.
In the Gassho, a carnal man and enlightened Buddha become one; the individual and the Buddha are transcended to oneness. Gassho is the highest expression of this unity in one. When this is expressed in words, it is “Namu-Amida-Butsu” “Namu” is to inspire honor and become one; “Amida” is eternal life and boundless light which is the essence of all beings.
Therefore, when one recites “Namu-Amida-Butsu” the one who recites becomes one with the Amida Buddha, transcending the petty selfishness of the individual.
Eastern Sun Sangha
Focusing on Everyday Spirituality
