What Do the Different Buddha Statues Mean?

By Amy Underdown, London, UK

There are many types of Buddha statues which all represent different facets of Buddha’s ability to help, heal and teach. Understanding these various representations of Buddha is crucial before investing in your spirituality, as they are specifically created and spirituality charged in order to help students of Buddhism face different aspects of the world. Think of it like this: if you were to get a tooth taken out, but, upon having been laid upon the surgical bench were told that your surgeon in question specialised in leg amputations, you may request another appointment when a dentist was preferably available.

No statue of Buddha can help with tooth removals or leg amputations, but the statement stands that if you know what the Buddha can do for you, you are more likely to achieve success in your spiritual endeavours. In a more Buddha-related hypothetical situation, there is less purpose to getting a Medicine Buddha if you are in perfectly good health, or a Meditation Buddha if instead you are seeking prosperity… the different types of Buddha statue are therefore heavy with meaning and intention.

Identified by the body position and mudra (hand position), the different types of Buddha can easily be understood when laid out in a simple and comprehensive way. And luckily, since you’re here, we’ve done exactly that in our article: The Meaning’s Behind the Buddha’s Positions. Make sure to give it a read if you wish to know more about what the Buddha statues represent.