Eyes of Buddha

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The Eyes of Buddha on a stupa at Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, Nepal Swayambunath0649.JPG
The Eyes of Buddha on a stupa at Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, Nepal
The Eyes of Buddha on the Swayambhunath stupa Le stupa de Swayambhunath a Katmandou (8435684322).jpg
The Eyes of Buddha on the Swayambhunath stupa
Eyes of Buddha adorned on a Stupa in the Gobi Desert in the Dornogovi Province of Mongolia Gobi, kompleks Szambala (05).jpg
Eyes of Buddha adorned on a Stupa in the Gobi Desert in the Dornogovi Province of Mongolia

The Eyes of Buddha (also called Buddha eyes or Wisdom eyes [1] ) is a symbol used in Buddhist art. The symbol depicts two half-closed eyes, a style sometimes referred to as the Adamantine View (Sanskrit : Vajradrsti). [2] In between and slightly above the eyes is a circle or spiral which represents the urna, [3] one of the thirty-two characteristics of a great man (Sanskrit : Mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa) in Buddhism. [2] Directly below the urna is a curly symbol stylized as १, which represents the number one in Devanagari numerals. [4] [5] The curly symbol, which represents either a nose or a divine fire emanating from the urna above, symbolizes unity. [1]

Contents

The Eyes of Buddha symbol represents the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha, [6] or sometimes more specifically represents the eyes of the Ādibuddha. [1]

On stupas

The Eyes of Buddha are painted [7] onto the upper portions of many Tibetan-style stupas, mostly throughout Nepal. [1] [8] The symbol is painted on all four sides of the cube at the top of the stupa to symbolize the Buddha's wisdom seeing all things in all four cardinal directions. [1] Two of the most well-known examples are the historic stupas at Swayambhunath [9] and Boudhanath, [10] which both comprise two of the seven Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site monuments located in Kathmandu in Nepal. [11]

Other uses

Similar to its use on stupas, the symbol is painted on the upper portion of many caityas. [2] The symbol is also sometimes inscribed on mani stones alongside the Sanskrit mantra Om mani padme hum as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. [12]

The Eyes of Buddha are painted on the silo housing the world's largest kaleidoscope, the Kaatskill Kaleidoscope in Mount Tremper, New York. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Issitt, Micah L. (2014). Hidden religion : the greatest mysteries and symbols of the world's religious beliefs. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. p. 188. ISBN   978-1-61069-477-3. OCLC   870699557.
  2. 1 2 3 Gutschow, Niels (1997). The Nepalese caitya : 1500 years of Buddhist votive architecture in the Kathmandu Valley. Stuttgart: Menges. p. 21. ISBN   3-930698-75-7. OCLC   38029358.
  3. ↑ Fingesten, Peter (1959). "Sight and Insight: A Contribution Toward An Iconography of the Eye". Criticism. 1 (1): 19–31. JSTOR   23091098.
  4. ↑ Penney, Sue (2001). Buddhism. Chicago: Heinemann Library. p. 26. ISBN   1-57572-354-9. OCLC   44612945. On all four sides of the stupa, painted eyes represent the all-seeing eyes of Buddha. The 'nose' between them is a Nepalese number one, a symbol of unity.
  5. ↑ Gautam, Bhim Lal (1 February 2022). "Language politics in Nepal: A socio-historical overview". Journal of World Languages. 7 (2): 355–374. doi: 10.1515/jwl-2021-0010 . ISSN   2169-8260. S2CID   245890297. The Nepali language in the Devanagari script is the language of the nation of Nepal.
  6. ↑ "Nepal an exotic nation". Alberni Valley Times . 21 July 1972. p. 13. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Marceau, Jo (1998). Art : a world history. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 338. ISBN   0-7513-0453-0. OCLC   40050950.
  8. ↑ Olschak, Blanche Christine; Wangyal, Geshé Thupten (December 1974). "Lotus eyes of the Buddha". UNESCO Courier . 27 (11): 28–29 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ Ostrowski, A. (2006). "The Framing of Religion: Nepal TV Explored" . South Asian Popular Culture. 4 (1): 3–18. doi:10.1080/14746680600555410. S2CID   142489523. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022– via EBSCO Information Services.
  10. ↑ "Nepal's earthquake-hit Boudhanath stupa reopens after restoration". The Guardian . 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "Kathmandu Valley". UNESCO . Archived from the original on 31 October 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Gurawa, Anju (2009). Tibetan diaspora : Buddhism and politics. New Delhi, India: National Book Organisation. p. 40. ISBN   978-81-87521-24-2. OCLC   320661925.
  13. ↑ Gitter, Dean (26 July 1996). "Buddhist Symbol at Home in the Catskills". The New York Times . pp. A–28. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
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