Buddha image. The broad sense includes Bodhisattva, arhat, Ming king, etc. Although there are two kinds of statues: sculpture and portrait (painting), only sculpture is called Buddha, while portrait is called image.
In ancient India, it was considered that carving and painting Buddha statues was a blasphemy. Therefore, the ancient carving of Sanskrit SA ^ nchi ^) was limited to symbolizing Buddha with Buddhist dharma, bodhi tree, Buddha footprints and other symbols. Since then, with the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, the carving of Buddha statues began to prevail. Therefore, there are many records about the cause and virtue of statues in Mahayana classics.
Buddha statues are the most numerous. Including, Qiangba Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Amitabha Buddha, etc. The broad concept of Buddha also includes all Buddhist statues such as Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva statues account for a large proportion of Buddhist statues. For example, the statues of Guanyin, Manjusri, Puxian and dizang Bodhisattvas appear cordial and solemn, showing the aesthetic mood of kindness, beauty and tranquility.
The emergence of Buddha art was a matter of the first and second centuries A.D. It is a product of Gandhara culture influenced by ancient Greek culture and mixed with Indian culture and Western culture.
When Sakyamuni was alive more than 2500 years ago, he opposed the idolatry of Brahmanism in Indian society. In the six hundred years after the emergence of Buddhism, Buddhist believers have always followed the lessons of Sakyamuni and did not establish idol worship. In the history of India, until the first century AD, there was no sculpture or painting of Buddha. In the Mahabodhi Temple of Buddha Gaye built in the age of Asoka (272-232 BC), although many sculpture patterns and Buddha seats can be seen, there is no Buddha statue on the Buddha seat. From here, we can see that Buddhist believers at that time still followed Sakyamuni's teachings and did not worship idols. Of course, it may also be out of such a mentality that they think that the sacred image of Buddha is difficult to describe, and making Buddha statues is a crime of blasphemy.
Characteristic Buddha statue
When excavating the site of ancient Gandhara (near Peshawar, Pakistan today), a coin of kaniska period was found. On the coin, there was a statue of Sakyamuni in Greek clothes, surrounded by the word "Buddha" spelled in Greek letters. In addition, an early Buddha with thin bones and light wheels on its head, which looks like the image of ancient Greeks, was also found in the western regions. These earliest Buddha statues discovered so far show that the appearance of Buddha statues is closely related to the descendants of Greeks who believe in Buddhism. They introduced the artistic expression form of Greek gods into Buddhism, created Buddha statues with obvious Greek face shape, and enshrined them in "Kalan" (Buddhist temple), highlighting the sanctity of Buddha in the form of image art, He began to deviate from Sakyamuni's teachings against idolatry.
The thousand Buddha cave in Kizil, Xinjiang, reflects the influence of ancient Indian culture and ancient Central Asian culture in both architectural art and the image of Buddha.