All of us have seen multiple Buddha statues in our life. Whenever we go to the market, we can easily spot different kinds of Buddha statues. As Buddhism is getting more popular day by day due to its try-and-test approach. For many people, Buddhist ideologies have helped them in various phases of life.
Buddhism is one of the oldest known religions on Earth. It is one of the few religions that have a clear story of origin. This makes it different from other forms of faith. it does not force people to follow its rules and ideology, it simply says that you should check if all the things that are stated if they are true or not and then only you should believe in it.
All these things played an important role in the acceptance of Buddhism. As Lord Buddha believed in the freedom to choose the faith and the people were encouraged to ask questions. There were many more aspects like the participation of women as well as the lower caste people.
As Buddhism originated in India and Nepal around 570 BCE. In those times the society had a very rigid caste system which was made by the Brahmins. Lower caste people were neither allowed to study nor they could afford it. But the teachings of lord buddha helped them to find a way to practice spirituality which was a far-fetched concept for many.
Many of the lower caste people were poor and could not afford to spend their whole life studying scripture, with Buddhism came away. With the help of this, they stood a chance of being spiritually liberated.
The rigid caste structure where a single caste enjoyed the benefits of being superior to others benefited most from Buddhism. When we look into the textual descriptions or pieces of evidence that we found through archaeological surveys lower caste people were much more involved in Buddhism.
The reason is unlike the rich and self-sufficient upper-class men who can afford to dedicate their whole life. Lower-class people have to work in order to make a living.
When these people were given an opportunity to attain spiritual enlightenment without interrupting their livelihood. Many people saw this as a freedom of choice that was fresh and new to people at that time.
All these things helped in strengthening the roots of Buddhism.
What does the sleeping Buddha statue mean?
In the above paragraph, you might have an idea of how important Buddhism was to the people. The teachings of lord buddha were taken from life itself, the philosophies and stories. The life events of lord buddha were a great inspiration for many people.
But the statue-making of Lord Buddha did not start till the 1st century AD. Before that people used different ways to pay respect to him like a space under an umbrella, an empty sitting space, or a pair of sandals etc. The oldest signs of the Buddha statue are from 1 century AD. They are found in present-day Pakistan, they were made during Kushan Empire.
The statues were inspired by the real-life incidents of lord buddha. The time Lord Gautam Buddha gave his first teaching, his moment of enlightenment, and other life events. Here, we will talk about the brass Buddha statue of the sleeping Buddha. This statue has a significant meaning attached to it.
The stance of the sleeping Buddha is the representation of 80-year-old Lord Gautama who is about to enter Mahaparinirvana. The term Mahaparinirvana is made by joining three words that are Maha, Pari and Nirvana.
We will explain each word and start with the word Nirvana which means to attain salvation. When we talk about Parinirvana, this translates into the phenomenon of the death of a person who has attained enlightenment and has escaped from the cycle of birth and death forever. They will not have to take birth into this world of suffering again.
Now, the term Mahaparinirvana was coined when Lord Gautam Buddha entered the supreme godhood and attained perfect enlightenment. As he was the first Buddha of Buddhism and hence, the first one to enter Godhood. Because of all these things, his death is called Mahaparinirvana.
If look for meaning in his death, then you can two important lessons from Buddha’s teaching. The first one is that everything in this world changes, we can not stop the cycle of change. So, it is better to accept this fact and continue living.
The second lesson is also from his basic truth of this universe, which is nothing in this universe is lost.
Just like a dead leaf gets decomposed all the nutrients go back into the soil and back to the tree. There is nothing to grieve about the loss of things, especially when they are not lost they just changed state.
Thou when we have lost someone close to us, we are overcome with grief. No one and nothing will be able to bring them back, the only option is to move forward and heal ourselves.
If someone is going through this phase then remember this teaching that lord buddha has bestowed on us.
What is the purpose of having a brass Buddha statue?
We have talked a lot about the significance of Lord Buddha and in this section, we will talk about the purpose of having a Brass Buddha statue and how we can benefit from it.
- Better mood – Having a brass Buddha statue of Lord Gautam will help you to get in a better mood with his sincere smile and positive aura.
- Improved sleep quality – If you are someone who suffers from poor sleeping quality because of nightmares. Then you should consider having a brass Buddha statue, as it is believed that having one will help to get rid of nightmares.
- Get rid of Vastu Dosha – If you do not understand why everyone around you gets into fights and arguments, even if it seems like it there is no reason for it. There could be a chance that it is due to Vastu Dosha.
- Brings prosperity
There is a saying that goes like this, positivity brings prosperity. It is true when it comes to financial matters. The right mindset will help you to achieve your dreams.
For that, you must surround yourself with positive energy so that you do not feel burnt out. Having a Sleeping Buddha statue is a great way to incorporate positivity into your life.
Where should the Buddha statue be placed in the house?
The Buddha statue should be placed carefully. Because the right placement will be a great way to boost positive energy in your surroundings.
We will tell you a few things that you should keep in mind before installing one in your place which are as follows :
- Do not keep the Buddha statue in the bathroom or toilet.
- Avoid keeping a brass Buddha statue on a shoe rack or around it.
- The place where you are going to keep the Lord Buddha statue should be neat and clean.
- Keep the Buddha statue in a brightly lit room.
- Do not place a Buddha statue in a closet or a trunk.
Conclusion
In this article, we have talked about the meaning of a sleeping Buddha with its purpose. We have told you about the places where we should and should not keep the Buddha statue. Along with that we have talked about the teachings of Buddha as well.
Hope that this article was helpful for you.