Shakyamuni Buddha – Sangye (Tib.)
Prince Siddhartha was, according to legend, 29 years old when he left his wealth and life of luxury behind, in search of something more. After his enlightenment the prince was known as the sage of the Shakya clan, or Shakyamuni Buddha.
Seated in the unshakeable full vajra meditative posture, Shakyamuni Buddha wears the robes of a monk. His left hand in the meditation mudra rests in his lap, holding a begging bowl. His right hand rests on his knee, palm facing down in one of the most famous of Buddhist gestures: the earth-touching gesture seen on buddha statues around the world.
Legend has it that at the moment of his enlightenment the Buddha, meditating under a bodhi tree, touched the earth with his right hand, calling it to stand witness to his right to enlightenment and his achievement: finally, completely defeating all delusions and seeing reality as it is.
2,600 years later Buddhism is one of the major world religions, founded in the 6th century on today’s India-Nepal border. It encompasses a vast array of psychological techniques as well as a profound philosophical system and ethical, compassionate core that has been a powerful social movement in human history, transforming every civilization that has embraced it.
Nothing about Shakyamuni Buddha’s realizations, he said, was unique to him. Anyone who puts determined effort into practice can and will reach the same results. There is, in a way, no “ism” in Buddhism; strip it of its religious aspects and you will be left with it intact. Aspiring to attain the benefits of contemplation, wisdom and compassion is a universal, profoundly human endeavor.
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