Physical characteristics of the Buddha

thumb|The Isapur Buddha, one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha, c. 15 CE. Art of [[Mathura]]

thumb|right|One of the first representations of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE, Greco-Buddhist art, Gandhara]]

There are no extant representations of the Buddha represented in artistic form until roughly the 2nd century CE, probably due to the prominence of aniconism in Buddhism in the earliest extant period of Buddhist devotional statuary and bas reliefs. A number of early discourses describe the appearance of the Buddha, and are believed to have served as a model for early depictions. In particular, the "32 signs of a Great Man" are described throughout the Pali Canon, and these are believed to have formed the basis for early representations of the Buddha. In contrast, a buddha's physical form is understood to be a nirmāṇakāya, or transformation-body. Many statues and busts exist where the Buddha and other bodhisattvas have a mustache.

thumb|Seated Buddha, [[Gandhara, 1st–2nd century CE, Tokyo National Museum]]

thumb|Buddha depicted with urna, gilt bronze, 14th century

In the Pali Canon a paragraph appears many times recording the Buddha describing how he began his quest for enlightenment, saying:

After examining the cult of the Buddha image in India, Gregory Schopen concludes that followers of Mahāyāna at this time played little to no role in introducing statuary and other physical depictions of the Buddha. Mahāyāna sūtras from this period such as the Maitreyasiṃhanāda Sūtra, only address the image cult as an object of criticism, if it is mentioned at all. These thirty-two characteristics are also regarded as being present in cakravartin kings as well. the colour of collyrium, turning in curls, turning to the right...

15.

15. the limbs are straight like brahmā’s...

16.

16. there are seven prominent marks...

17.

17. the torso is like a lion’s...

18.

18. between the shoulders it is firm...

19.

19. the (body) is well-proportioned like a banyan tree, the extent of the arm span equals the extent of the body...

20.

20. the upper back is even all round,

21.

21. the taste buds are supremely sensitive...

22.

22. the jaw is like a lion’s...

23.

23. there are forty teeth...

24.

24. the teeth are even...

25.

25. the teeth are without gaps...

26.

26. the teeth are very white...

27.

27. the tongue is very large...

28.

28. the voice is like brahmā’s or like the sound of the cuckoo...

29.

29. Eyes very blue, like sapphire eyes deep blue

</poem>

</blockquote>

The 80 secondary characteristics

thumb|upright|Sculpture of the Buddha from [[Mathura, India, 5th or 6th century CE]]

The 80 minor characteristics of the Buddha are known to be enumerated a number of times in the extant Āgamas of the Chinese Buddhist canon. According to Guang Xing, the 80 minor marks are related to the 32 major marks, and are merely a more detailed description of the Buddha's bodily features.

The eighty minor characteristics are:

He has beautiful fingers and toes.
He has well-proportioned fingers and toes.
He has tube-shaped fingers and toes.
His fingernails and toenails have a rosy tint.
His fingernails and toenails are slightly upturned at the tip.
His fingernails and toenails are smooth and rounded without ridges.
His ankles and wrists are rounded and undented.
His feet are of equal length.
He has a beautiful gait, like that of a king-elephant.
He has a stately gait, like that of a king-lion.
He has a beautiful gait, like that of a swan.
He has a majestic gait, like that of a royal ox.
His right foot leads when walking.
His knees have no protruding kneecaps.
He has the demeanor of a great man.
His navel is without blemish.
He has a deep-shaped abdomen.
He has clockwise marks on the abdomen.
His thighs are rounded like banana sheaves.
His two arms are shaped like an elephant's trunk.
The lines on the palms of his hands have a rosy tint.
His skin is thick or thin as it should be.
His skin is unwrinkled.
His body is spotless and without lumps.
His body is unblemished above and below.
His body is absolutely free of impurities.
He has the strength of 1,000 crore elephants or 100,000 crore men.
He has a protruding nose.
His nose is well proportioned.
His upper and lower lips are equal in size and have a rosy tint.
His teeth are unblemished and with no plaque.
His teeth are long like polished conches.
His teeth are smooth and without ridges.
His five sense-organs are unblemished.
His four canine teeth are crystal and rounded.
His face is long and beautiful.
His cheeks are radiant.
The lines on his palms are deep.
The lines on his palms are long.
The lines on his palms are straight.
The lines on his palms have a rosy tint.
His body emanates a halo of light extending around him for two meters.
His cheek cavities are fully rounded and smooth.
His eyelids are well proportioned.
The five nerves of his eyes are unblemished.
The tips of his bodily hair are neither curved nor bent.
He has a rounded tongue.
His tongue is soft and has a rosy-tint.
His ears are long like lotus petals.
His earholes are beautifully rounded.
His sinews and tendons don't stick out.
His sinews and tendons are deeply embedded in the flesh.
His topknot is like a crown.
His forehead is well-proportioned in length and breadth.
His forehead is rounded and beautiful.
His eyebrows are arched like a bow.
The hair of his eyebrows is fine.
The hair of his eyebrows lies flat.
He has large brows.
His brows reach the outward corner of his eyes.
His skin is fine throughout his body.
His whole body has abundant signs of good fortune.
His body is always radiant.
His body is always refreshed like a lotus flower.
His body is exquisitely sensitive to touch.
His body has the scent of sandalwood.
His body hair is consistent in length.
He has fine bodily hair.
His breath is always fine.
His mouth always has a beautiful smile.
His mouth has the scent of a lotus flower.
His hair has the colour of a dark shadow.
His hair is strongly scented.
His hair has the scent of a white lotus.
He has curled hair.
His hair does not turn grey.
He has fine hair.
His hair is untangled.
His hair has long curls.
He has a topknot as if crowned with a royal flower garland.

Causal relations of the 32 signs of perfection of the Tathāgata

thumb| representation of the footprints of the Buddha, including wheels

The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra expounds the causal relations of the 32 signs of perfection of the Tathāgata. These causal relations are cultivated by followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism on their path to buddhahood.

The table below summarizes the causal relations from which each of the 32 signs come about:

{| class="wikitable"

|+The causal relations of the 32 signs of perfection of the Tathāgata

!Sign of perfection

!Causal Relation

Physical characteristics of the Buddha

The 80 secondary characteristics

Causal relations of the 32 signs of perfection of the Tathāgata

See also

References

Bibliography