Buddhist images
In the early days of Buddhism there were no images of the Buddha. The Buddha was represented by a footprint, or a eight-spoked wheel, or a stupa.
The leaf of the Ficus religiosa fig tree has special significance for Buddhists. The historical Buddha achieved enlightenment sitting under the Bodhi Tree at Bodh-gaya in India.
Following the invasion of northern India by the Greeks people started to make images of the Buddha. The historical Buddha is said to have had 80 auspicious signs on His body such as long ear lobes and the sign of a wheel on the soles of His feet. The Buddha is often depicted in traditional poses which include mudras, ritual hand positions. In later years the mythical Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana were added to give a rich variety of images. As Buddhism was transmitted to new countries the images often changed to meet the expectations of the local population.
Shakyamuni Buddha - the Historical Buddha
Amida Buddha - the Buddha of the Western Paradise
Bhaishajyaguru Buddha - the Medicine Buddha
Kwan Yin - a.k.a. the Goddess of Compassion; deveoloped from Avalokiteshvara Boddhisattva
The Laughing Buddha - Pu-tai in Chinese or Hotei in Japanese. Based on a Chinese wandering monk of the 10th Century CE, thought to be an incarnation of Maitreya (Mi-lo-fu in Chinese) the next Buddha to appear on earth.
Bodhidharma - the founder of Ch'an (Zen) in China. And a Japanese Daruma doll.
