In front of you, is a collection of multiple Buddha images symbolizing the diverse aspects of The Buddha’s Teachings. You are welcome to have a seat, and make yourself comfortable.
The Buddha, originally named Siddhartha Gotama, was born in the year 563 BCE and died in 483 BCE. He was born in modern day Nepal, and taught in modern day northeast India.
He was born into a royal family as the first son of a King, he was destine for the throne. At the age of 29, he left the royal palace to seek a better understanding of life through his journey to Enlightenment.
It is important to understand, The Buddha never taught anyone to make statues of him. However, approximately 500-600 years after his death, the people who were familiar with his Teachings came in contact with the people in Greece. They were learning from the Greek people how to make statues, as the Greek people were making statues of their Gods.
The people who were exploring The Teachings of The Buddha decided, on their own, to start making statues of The Buddha. However, the people who started making statues of The Buddha, did not live during his lifetime. So, the vast majority of the statues you will see of The Buddha, do not depict his actual appearance during his lifetime because the artists did not live during his lifetime and photographic technology did not exist 2,500 years ago during the lifetime of The Buddha.
The Buddha did not wear fancy clothing nor a crown on his head as is depicted in these statues. He wore simple rag robes and shaved his head.
While the typical statue of The Buddha does not actually depict his appearance during his lifetime, they do represent a specific aspect of his life story. For example, notice how, the primary statue of The Buddha depicts him sitting crosslegged with his hand reaching down towards the ground. This statue represents the first and only miracle performed by The Buddha, prior to his first Teaching.
He had come into contact with five individuals who were mocking him, thinking that he had given up on The Path to Enlightenment. He sat down, reach down towards the earth, and upon touching the earth, countless animals came to where he was sitting. Deer, squirrels, rabbits, birds, and several other animals all came to where he was sitting, to confirm for those five individuals, that he had indeed attained Enlightenment.
Then, The Buddha shared his very first Teaching, The Four Noble Truths, and these five individuals became his first five Students.
A Buddha does not perform several miracles to convince others they are a Buddha, as their Teachings are independently verifiable, and there is no need to convince others that one is a Buddha. Instead, a Buddha will share their Teachings with countless people during their lifetime, helping them to attain the Enlightened mental state, through independently verifying their Teachings to be the truth, to cultivate wisdom. And, it is through gradual training and gradual practice that one experiences gradual progress on The Path to Enlightenment. So, as an individual is training their mind over a consistent period of time, they can observe for themselves, that The Teachings of The Buddha are working to improve the condition of their mind and their life.
I would like to draw your attention to the large wheel, on the wall, behind the head of the primary Buddha statue. You will notice a large wheel with eight spokes. This is a symbol referred to, as a “Dhamma Wheel”.
During the lifetime of The Buddha, he taught orally. There was nothing written down during his lifetime because, the technology to write things down did not exist in that region of the world during his lifetime. Therefore, The Buddha used symbols to capture the meaning of his Teachings.
This is a popular symbol that is in use today, yet, very few people understand its significance and meaning.
The wheel of this symbol reminds us how each unEnlightened being is in the continuous cycle of rebirth. The eight spokes symbolize the way to escape The Cycle of Rebirth, which is to learn and practice The Eight Fold Path to attain Enlightenment.
The Eight Fold Path is the core and central Teaching of The Buddha that will guide you to purification of the mind, by training of the mind, to attain the Enlightened mental state.
The twelve o’clock position represents Right View, then Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Learning and practicing this important Teaching, with the guidance of a Teacher, will guide you to Enlightenment.
It is understood that when a Buddha awakens to Enlightenment, that is an ideal time to be in existence. As the wisdom to attain Enlightenment will be bright, vibrant, and readily accessible to anyone and everyone who may be interested to attain Enlightenment. A Buddha, having attained Enlightenment on their own without the help of any Teachers or guides, would have deep and penetrating wisdom of how to attain Enlightenment. So, a Buddha existing in the world is like humanity stepping forward into a new era.
When a Buddha exists in the world, civilization has entered into an important time in history and The Teachings for all beings to attain Enlightenment, shine in the world.
In artwork, a Dhamma Wheel is typically placed behind the head of a Buddha because it is understood when a Buddha awakens to Enlightenment, they will reach up behind their head, with their right hand, and turn the Dhamma Wheel counter-clockwise. The Dhamma Wheel is not physically on a Buddha’s head but instead, is figuratively on the top of his head where the top of the skull and the back of his skull will meet, creating a flat spot. It is in that position that a Buddha will then turn the Dhamma Wheel as a representation of humanity stepping forward into a new era.
Please feel free to look around the Temple as I share details with you that will help you gain insight into this Temple, The Buddha, and The Path to Enlightenment that he taught.