Himalayan Art Resources

Shakyamuni Buddha: Main Page

Shakyamuni Masterworks

- Art History

- Iconography

- Religious Context


Videos:
- Shakyamuni Buddha
- Shakyamuni Buddha Confusions
- Buddha Definition
- Buddha Appearance
- Thirty-two Major Marks
- Shakyamuni & Akshobhya Buddha: A Confusion About the Vajra Scepter

Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya tu pa, sang gye. English: the Enlightened One, Sage of the Shakya Clan), founder of Buddhism. In Theravadin, or Foundational Buddhism, Shakyamuni is the only Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism there are many Buddhas mentioned. Some are described in detail with complex narratives and literature while others are only referenced by name.

Study Topics:
- Historical Context
--- Life Story
--- Jataka
--- Avadana
- Buddha Appearance in General
- Shakyamuni
--- Nirmanakaya
--- Sambhogakaya
- Number Sets
- Styles, Regions & Periods

Three Iconographic Topics:
- Narrative Depictions
- Iconic Depictions
- Tantric Depictions
- Mandala Depictions

Sanskrit: Buddha Shakyamuni Tibetan: Sang gye sha kya tu pa

A Buddha, in Buddha Appearance, is known for having thirty-two major and eighty minor distinguishing physical characteristics (marks) based on the Indian cultural description of a Universal Monarch (Chakravartin) - the highest and most developed male form. Only a few of these 112 marks are depicted in art such as the ushnisha on the top of the head, the urnakesha between the eyes, three curved horizontal lines on the neck, and a Dharma Wheel impression on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Database Search: All Images | Painting | Sculpture | Mandala

Jeff Watt 9-99 [updated 3-2011, 1-2017, 12-2019, 2-2022]