When deciding what to place in your garden there are many things to consider as you will want it to be a peaceful and relaxing placing to go? Gardens are an ideal place to sit at the end of the day and rewind from all of your stresses and worries. Doing this in the right surroundings can make all of the difference to how you feel. Buddha garden statues are a great garden ornament to have as they look amazing and help you to create your perfect place.

Buddha means enlightened one and although many people have now earned this title as there is a huge following for the Buddhist faith. You do need to follow the faith to have Buddha garden statues and many people have them throughout their gardens. They are often bought simply because they are calming to sit and look at. You can choose to make a statement with your Buddha statues as they can be very large, these will look very impressive in your garden.

Buddha statues can represent many different things and you will need to know what each of them mean before purchasing them. There are many different sizes, styles and even colors of Buddha garden statues to choose from. The most common pose for your Buddha is the sitting position with its legs crossed, left hand in the lap and right hand on the right knee. The fingers are often pointing towards the earth on the Buddha statues. This is to represent the Buddha’s enlightenment and shows the Buddha touching the earth.

How you choose to design your garden is entirely your choice and you may choose to have different areas. Having your garden zoned is ideal if you have a family and then you can have an area for the children to play and a more relaxing are for the adults. Buddha garden statues look great in these areas as they can help you to get the relaxed feel you want. They are ideal with water features and fountains as these are also very relaxing. The whole are can be transformed into your tranquil area to retreat to at the end of the day.

If you want a genuine Buddha statue then you may need to go to a reputable dealer although often you can find very nice Buddha statues at your local garden centre. Many people purchase them because of the way they look and not for the meaning behind them. You will need to think about the material that your Buddha garden statues are made from as they will be outside in all weathers. Stone, copper or bronze ones are ideal as they will remain in good conditions even in the bad weather. Wooden Buddha statues are more designed for indoor use as they will rot if left outside.

The ‘Buddhist Art,’ associated with monuments and paintings enlightening about the religion, Buddhism, came in to existence in around fifth century BC, under the mounting influence of Gautama Sakyamuni. The preachers of Buddhism claim Gautama Buddha as the greatest amongst the mythological pantheon, an aspect highly magnified in one of the key forms of the art of India, the ‘Buddhist Art.’ The initial ‘Buddhist Art,’ found at Bharhut, Sanchi, and Bodh-Gaya, and Amaravati, bore no anthropomorphic depiction of Gautama Buddha. The ‘Buddha Image’ was instead ‘Symbolic’ at that time. Some of the key representative symbols were empty thrones, a standing woman, a pair of footprints, the Bodhi tree, or the Dharma-chakra that depicted his life.

Buddhism attained huge popularity in the early first century BC. Since the asceticism of the religion was beyond the understanding of the followers, an iconic image of Buddha transpired in Northern India and portrayed Buddha in human form, which still exists. Gandhara (now in Pakistan) and Mathura (in Central Northern India) were the primary centers for the production of the ‘Buddha Images.’ The ‘Gandharan’ image displayed Buddha in standing or sitting position, with wavy hair and well-draped shoulders, closely resembling the Greek God, ‘Apollo.’ The ‘Mathuran’ school, on the other hand, contributed to the lotus seat (depicting the importance of mediation and His enlightenment), sporting a standing Buddha, holding one hand high and wearing a robe, baring His right shoulder.

The ‘Buddhist Art’ in India continued to expand. The pink sand stone sculptures made during the Gupta period at Mathura are an exemplary of finesse and competent artisanship, with few dating back to even 81 AD. Some gold and copper currency coins of 78 AD carry the ‘Buddha Image’ on one side and Kanishka’s (the ruler then) on the other.

The historical ‘Buddha Images’ were depicted in five different positions, symbolizing the significant events of His life, such as birth, exit from home, enlightenment, first sermon, and death. The images are postured in four styles, standing, sitting, walking, and reclining with the position of hands conveying several connotations, such as:

Pacifying Relatives – Standing Buddha with right hand lifted to chest and the left one resting on the side

Calming the ocean – Standing Buddha with both hands raised up to chest

Subduing Mara – Crossed legged, seated Buddha, with his right hand on the right knee, pointing four fingers to the ground, while the left hand rests on His lap

Some fascinating details to be taken into account while creating the ‘Buddha Image,’ are the pre-defined measurements for physical proportion such as the exaggerated earlobes, and the “enlightenment-elevation” on the top of the head. Apart from the historical ‘Buddha Images,’ various other forms such as “Laughing Buddha” and “Medicine Buddha” are available in a variety of materials, such as sand stone, clay, gold etc. A renowned Buddhist follower once stated that “A Buddha image is not only a symbol of the historical person but the human qualities that he perfected; compassion, wisdom, patience, generosity, kindness, etc., worthy of bowing down to.”