Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. For many thousands of years, humans have used various forms of art to symbolize their religion, their religious practices, and their religious beliefs. Like many museums, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh displays a number of religious icons from various religions around the world. Shown below are some of the Buddhist religious icons.
Buddhism was founded in northern India about 500 BCE by a teacher and philosopher named Guatama Siddhartha, known as Guatama Buddha. From here the religion diffused into China (100 BCE to 200 CE), Korea and Japan (300-500 CE), Southeast Asia (400-600 CE), Tibet (700 CE), and Mongolia (1500 CE). Buddhism is a religion of practice rather than a religion of belief and therefore it is common for Buddhist religious icons to show practices, particularly meditation.
According to the display:
“Guatama Buddha was a Hindu prince (c500 BC) who renounced the world to become a wandering ascetic. His search and eventual achievement of enlightenment became the basis of the Buddhist religion.”
According to the display:
“The Buddha’s left hand is in his lap, palm up, and his right hand reaches to touch the earth. It represents the moment when his six-year search for a perfect state of understanding and tranquility ended and he asked the earth goddess as his witness.”
According to the display:
“The statue shows Amida seated on a lotus pedestal in an attitude of meditation known as dhyana mudra with the hands resting in the lap, palms facing upward and the tips of the thumbs touching the index fingers. On the halo behind him are the 25 guardians chosen to protect all true believers.”
According to the display:
“His role is to preserve Buddhist teachings and protect Buddhist monasteries.”
The display also reports:
“The tradition of Buddhism in China believes in universal enlightenment. It recognizes many spiritual beings, among them bodhisattvas, or beings that have compassionately chosen to remain on earth, guiding others toward enlightenment.”
Shown above are two small Buddha statues.
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