Abstract

               This research paper, entitled “An Analytical Study of Buddha Images as Symbols of Belief for Buddhists," has two objectives: (1) to study and analyze the thought behind Buddha images based on the Tipitaka, and (2) to study the Buddha image as a holy object for Buddhists.

               This research found that Buddha images have been conceived and produced up to the present day.  They were mentioned in primary documents like the Tipitaka as well as in secondary sources such as the Atthakatha and other texts.  The results are given as follows.

                     1. In the Tipitaka and other early texts

                     The word for "sculpture" can be found in the Tipitaka, and there are several mentions of sculpture in the Atthakatha and other commentaries on Buddhism. The word does not refer to a sculpture or statue of the Buddha, except for a phrase in the AtthakathaSuttantaPitakakhudakanikaya: “The sculpture (Buddha’s image) is a pagoda." This mention of a Buddha image in parentheses appeared in a commentary written several hundred years after the canon of Buddhism had been established. The time of the Buddhist scholar monk (PhraBuddhakhosacharn) was the time of statute making in the history of India, or in the periods of Buddhism that would be written in the contemporary language of those countries. However both sculpture and statute were not of the Buddha’s image, except for the pagoda which is the symbol of the triple gem in Buddhism for Buddhists as the respected idol. The mentions of “statue” found in other texts are only metaphors for the noble body of Lord Buddha when he preached the Dhamma to one his followers (PhraVaggali) on impermanence, or for the preaching about the Lord Buddha by some holy followers telling about his previous life and the events of virtue of charity in the days of former Lord Buddha.

                     2. In later documents of Buddhism after the death of Lord Buddha

                     The first Buddha images reported by these sources are confirmed in the Gandara period of India under the influence of Greek sculpture and art especially in the form of gods. Then, years later, a western king named Menader or Milinda ruled over the western parts of India in the city of Sagala.  He was a serious scholar of philosophy and religion. No one could debate with him. But he adopted Buddhism due to his defeat by a Buddhist monk, PhraNagasena.  So he began to patronize Buddhism by offering donations, just as earlier, Ashoka, the king of Pataliputta, had built temples, pagodas and Buddha images.  The development of Buddha images took place over several periods, and they were produced in Thailand during the era of Dvaravati, Srivichai, Lopburi, ChaingSaen, Sukhothai, Ayutthya and Ratanakosin, or Bangkok, according to available documentation.