The image of Buddha expresses serene
quiescence. The harmony of his physical proportions is the expression
of great beauty. The required measurements are laid down in
the canon (or standard pattern) of Buddhist art, which corresponds
to ideal physical proportions. The span is the basic measure,
i.e. the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the tip
of the thumb of the outspread hand. This distance corresponds
to the space between the dimple in the chin and the hair-line.
Each span has twelve finger-breadths. The whole figure measures
108 finger-breadths or 9 spans corresponding to the macro-micro-cosmic
The perfect proportions
of a Buddha, the graciousness of his physical form, represent
one of the ten qualities or powers of a Buddha. They are the characteristics
of the physical harmony and beauty of a Great Being, and are described
in Story of the Life of Buddha Shakyamuni. There are thirty-two
major and eighty minor characteristics. The lines of the eight-spoked
on the soles and palms of a Buddha are among them. The appearance
and the measurements of a Buddha are perishable and a worldly
conception: they describe the ideal picture of a Heavenly Body.
They are not subject to change like growth, sickness and death,
which can only affect the earthly incarnation of a Buddha.
Examining the canon
of the body of a Buddha, one realises that every detail represents
harmonious proportions. Everything, the spot between the eyebrows,
marking the eye of wisdom, as well as the tip of the nose, has
its own special place. The nose has its specific length, just
as the ears have their own characteristically exaggerated length.
The symbol of a Buddha's greatest enlightenment is the so-called
enlightenment-elevation on the top of the head, described in old
texts as that which emerges out of the head of an enlightened
saint. It is the visible symbol of the spiritual generative power
that strives towards heaven and passes into the immaterial sphere.
The ideal proportions
of any image of the Buddha are described in books on iconography.
The canonic prototype shows the seated Buddha with his legs crossed
and the soles of his feet visible. This yoga-posture has a pre-Buddhist
tradition in India, appearing for the first time on the seals
of Mohenjodaro in the third millennium BC. This yoga-posture hides
the lower part of the body. The broad shoulders are emphasised
in early Buddhist sculptures of Mathura. These characteristics,
and the slightly almond eye of Buddha Sakyamuni, hint at his descent
from the Licchavi clan, related to the Proto-Tibetans by kinship
and blood. Before the final domination of the Indo-Europeans,
these Licchavis ruled in northern India and the Himalayan regions.
Their principalities had democratic constitutions with equal rights
and no discrimination of sex or race. Buddhism and its founder
must be considered on the basis of this social structure which
is confirmed in the oldest texts as well as in the modern Oxford
History of India.
Ushnisha, the Enlightenment
Elevation above the fontanelle; is the flame-topped elevation
on the head of the Buddha, defined as that which emerges from
the head of a Fully Enlightened One.
Urna, the mark in the
centre of the forehead, called the Eye of Wisdom, also depicted
as a Bundle of Rays or fine hairs between the eyebrows.
The lower part of the
body is covered by the Diamond-Seat (Vajrasana). This is the meditation
pose (Dhayanasana) of utmost concentration with the legs crossed
so that the soles are visible.
Energy-Spheres of the Body
the Top of the Head or fontanelle above the upper cerebrum, called
Sphere of the Thousand-petalled Lotus (SAHASHRARA-CAKRA).
The cerebral centre
of thinking and conscious-power, called Command-Centre (AJNA-CAKRA), the forehead between the eyebrows; ascribed to lotus-centre.
The guttural centre
or subtle Sphere of Speech (VISHUDDHA-CAKRA) at
the base of the throat.
The cardiac plexus,
the emotional Sphere of the Inner Voice (ANAHATA-CAKRA), called the Source of the Heart, situated in the central region
of the thorax or chest.
The solar plexus with
the gastric plexus, called `the brain of the belly', Fiery-lustrous
or Navel-Centre (MANIPURA-
CAKRA) in the region of the
loins and connected with the lumbar plexus.
The sacral plexus, called
Root-Centre (MULADHARA-CAKRA) or Secret
Place, being the root of all streams of vital energy (NADIS) in the region of the rump-bone or sacrum.
The human body is the
receptacle of the power of thinking described as a bundle of energy
and pervaded by the so-called breath of life flowing in subtle
streams throughout the body.