BUDDHA, LIFE OF THE, INART
enlightenment is represented by an empty seat be-
neath a tree.
After the Buddha was enlightened, he remained in
meditation for seven weeks. During this time a tor-
rential rain occurred and the serpent king (nagaraja)
named Mucalinda protected the Buddha from the
storm by lifting him above the waters and spreading
his seven hoods out over the Buddha’s head. Images
of this event are common in Cambodia where the naga
is especially revered and seen to be the protector of the
Cambodian king. During the Khmer empire in the
early thirteenth century, a cult was introduced around
this image, possibly to honor King Jayavarman VII (r.
ca. 1181–1219) as both a living buddha and as the pro-
tector of his kingdom. After this king’s reign ended,
there was an iconoclastic reaction in Cambodia to
Jayavarman’s use of the images to have himself wor-
shiped as a god.
From the first sermon to the parinirvana
The Buddha delivered his first sermon at the Deer Park
in Sarnath. Images showing him with the “turning the
Wheel of the Dharma” gesture (dharmacakra-mudra)
refer to this event. The importance of this gesture is
that the Buddha is setting in motion the FOUR NOBLE
TRUTHSand revealing the middle path by which any-
one can transcend the sufferings of living in the world.
This image further represents all of the Buddha’s teach-
ings as expounded by the various miracles and doc-
trines, and is therefore used in art throughout Asia. A
wheel alone can also symbolize the dharmacakraand
the first sermon, especially if it is surrounded by two
deer to indicate the context of the teaching. This sym-
bol is commonly sculpted on Mahayana and Vajrayana
monasteries or temples, as well as on early aniconic
monuments.
The Buddha taught and performed miracles for
more than forty years after his enlightenment. Any
standing Buddha image, often displaying the protec-
tion (abhaya) and giving (varada) gestures, can be
viewed as representing this stage in S ́akyamuni’s life.
The walking Buddha image in Thailand represents the
impact of this part of the Buddha’s life especially well.
The aniconic version of the Buddha’s ministry is
equally eloquent: footprints to represent the Buddha’s
continued presence in this world. The great miracle at
S ́ravast, when the Buddha multiplied himself before a
congregation to demonstrate that his potential exists
everywhere, is a frequent subject in South Asian and
Chinese arts, especially in painting, where it may sim-
ply be shown as a whole mural of identical buddhas.
When he was approaching nearly eighty years old,
the Buddha S ́akyamuni traveled to a city called Kus ́ina-
gara and died. In the texts this event is called his
parinirvana,the Buddha’s complete or final achieve-
ment of NIRVANA. The primary symbol of the Buddha’s
parinirvana is the STUPA, the commemorative monu-
ment to his death; as the stupa form evolved into the
mchod rten(chorten), dagoba,and the pagoda, it re-
tained this symbolism. Images of the Buddha’s parinir-
vanashow him reclining on his right side with his head
resting on his right hand. Depictions of this “posture”
vary in size, from tiny to colossal: Huge sculptures of
the parinirvanacan be found in India, Sri Lanka, and
many sites in East and Southeast Asia. A colossal im-
age was erected at the archaeological site of ancient
Kus ́inagara in the twentieth century. The meaning of
the stupa and the reclining Buddha encompasses the
promise that any human being can achieve nirvana like
the Buddha if they follow his last teaching: “work to-
ward enlightenment with diligence.”See also:Buddha, Life of the; Central Asia, Buddhist
Art in; China, Buddhist Art in; Dunhuang; India,
Buddhist Art in; Indonesia, Buddhist Art in; Jataka,
Illustrations of; Mudraand Visual Imagery; Sañcl;
Southeast Asia, Buddhist Art in; Sri Lanka, Buddhist
Art in; Theravada Art and ArchitectureBibliography
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GAILMAXWELL