Buddha Thangka

Prior to being known as Buddha, the Awakened One was a Prince known as Siddharth. Surrounded by all the sensory pleasures that he could desire he still had a dissatisfaction within him. His questioning led him on a journey to discover a deep truth — that everything is mind and the solution to suffering relies on mind itself. Knowing this, he re-trained his mind to release habits and grasping until mind became free, clear and compassionate in all circumstances.

The Buddha is depicted in four main postures - sitting, standing, walking, and reclining, with different hand gestures. All gestures and postures have their own meanings. The most common gesture of the sitting Buddha Shakyamuni is where his middle finger of his right hand “touches the earth” symbolising his subjugation of mind’s negativities and his other hand rests in meditation holding a monk’s bowl.