Hi Friends, I am looking for suggestions for a ‘right statue’ of the Buddha for a little shrine on a desktop. Can’t afford much. I have a Laughing Buddha that stands up straight with palms facing the sky, but I don’t know if that is appropriate? Nor do I know if plastic is right. I appreciate your help in advance.
2 Likes
That mudra sounds like the double abhaya found in Thailand and Laos, and meaning calming the ocean or separation from conventional reality, an expression of insight. So the practitioner should work on that theme.
https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/19953/view
Many don’t understand that the way the path progresses in actual experience is not through verbal knowledge, but insight. That means investigating daily events in the light of dhamma principles:
"Then Ven. Samiddhi went to Ven. Sariputta and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Sariputta said to him, “Based on what, Samiddhi, do thoughts & resolves arise in a person?”
“Based on name & form, sir.”
“And how do they go to diversity?”
“Through the properties (elements), sir.”
[…]
"“And what do they have as their surpassing state?”
“They have discernment (insight) as their surpassing state, sir.”—AN 9.14
‘name and form’ = identity in conventional reality
‘diversity through the elements’= depending on individual temperament being influenced by earth, air, fire, or water, as described in astrology. The major element can be found here:
“(Temperaments) have their source in the elements…” —Vism III, 81
“(Meditation subjects) as to suitability to temperament”…III, 121
Temperament can also be gauged by observing what hindrances repeatedly arise.
Knowing temperament objectively will allow the choice of a suitable meditation subject, and so an appropriate Buddha image.
2 Likes
Hi @paul1, I believe @Rosie is talking about these statues (they are not the Buddha but Budai), if i am not mistaken.
2 Likes
You might want to check out this thread @Rosie
Whatever you can afford and elicits respect, faith, hope and happiness in you when you see it! That would be my suggestion 
I have a soft spot for certain styles ( South Asian/SE Asian), but that may not be the case for everyone.
There are many images of wonderful statues in museums made by artisans who remain nameless. I would print out a good quality picture of one of them and frame it if you can’t find something affordable ( @ a library or office supply store, 1 page of colour printing is far cheaper than the mass produced resin statues you see on Amazon for example).
Check out
5 Likes
You are correct, this is not the historical Buddha. Shakyamuni.
1 Like
Hi Rosie. I don’t know which country you are but if you go online or in person to a shop like “Fairtrade” or a Crystal Shop you mostly find lovely, often hand made Buddha statues in different sizes. Those shops also sell Tibetan prayer flags etc.
Going through them the “right one” for you, will show itself. They sell Buddha and not “Lucky Buddha’s” or similar.
You can choose from different materials, hand gestures…
Good luck in your search. A nice altar always lifts the spirits / practice 
Happy New Year 
1 Like
Yes! Exactly. Thanks for the name as I had always wonder…without much investigation. Here is what I found in Wikipedia::
" Budai (Chinese: 布袋; pinyin: Bùdài ; Korean: 포대, romanized: Podae ; Japanese: 布袋, romanized: Hotei ) is a semi-historical Chinese monk who is often identified with and venerated as Maitreya Buddha in Chan Buddhism
With the spread of Chan Buddhism, he also came to be venerated in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.[1] He is said to have lived around the 10th century in the Wuyue kingdom. His name literally means “cloth sack”,[1] and refers to the bag that he is conventionally depicted as carrying as he wanders aimlessly. His jolly nature, humorous personality, and eccentric lifestyle distinguish him from most Buddhist masters or figures. He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the “Laughing Buddha”.[a][2][3] As he is traditionally depicted as overweight, he is also referred to as the “Fat Buddha”, especially in the Western world.[4]
The main textual evidence pointing to Budai resides in a collection of Chan Buddhist monks’ biographies known as The Transmission of the Lamp.["
Thank you and Happy New Year. May all of our suffering be removed to make way for the New Day we all might enjoy!
With Metta!
2 Likes
This is a picture that is made of small pebbles which I brought back from Thailand in 2001. Naturally I love its androgynous presentation. So I will use this until I find a statue of similar appearance. Thank you all again!
7 Likes
Beautiful! Thank you!
I was going to suggest that early Buddhism was aniconic, but it seems that I might be a bit out of date with the scholarly debates around this area. Here’s a paper that I found when I went looking. It’s quite interesting
2 Likes
I too am interested in finding a statue of the Buddha for my desktop or other places so that I can place them around the house/office as visual reminders. I’m mostly interested in what is referred to sometimes as the “Samadhi Buddha” at Anuradhapura which has the Buddha in a seated position with a slight smile on his face while meditating. This reminds me that meditation is a “pleasant abiding” and that joy and happiness are crucial, clearly stated elements of the 5th and 6th contemplations of anapanasati, and the first, second and third jhanas, especially.
I found this nice bronze statue at Amazon “NOVICA Earth Witness Bronze Statuette” As you can gather by the name, it is technically an earth witness Buddha pose, but he appears to have a gentle smile and the robe is not overally ornate. It is about $50, so a bit expensive, but perhaps justified because it is bronze and made by artisans (appears authentic, but I haven’t done extensive research to verify).
If you are looking for a larger statue, interestingly, Home Depot has several resin statues that are in the $20-60 range and affordable:
-21 in. Standing Semui-in Rust Patina Buddha Decorative Statue
-Abstract Polystone Carved Buddha Sculpture with Square Base
(you’ll need a vacuum cleaner nearby when you open them because of all the styrofoam, alas)
I also saw these ones, but I don’t own them and cannot vouch for them:
-17 in. Japanese Sitting Buddha Decorative Statue
-Polystone Sitting Buddha Sculpture on Oval Base
I spent a lot of time looking around for statues and most were in the >$100-$300 price range. When I typed in “smiling” Buddha, Google search kept taking me to the laughing Buddha or India’s nuclear testing, so hopefully this will save you some trouble. If you can find anything else, please share that information.
1 Like
Can copy and paste this word “พระพุทธรูป ปางมารวิชัย”, you can get the images of Theravada Buddha statue.
1 Like
Thanks for that. I will take a look. I found this on Amazon for $20.00. It’s size is 11" x *" . Your thoughts?
Very beautiful. Thanks!
Fyi, Buddha image’s price varies…some of superb quality can be pricy…
For example,
A Buddha image carved from jade stone… 18000bht or $542.25
http://www.trilakbooks.com/product/2052826/องค์พระแก้วมรกต-จากหยกแท้ทั้งก้อน-18000-บาท.html
This one is quite good. But quite expensive imo.
Sri Lankan styled image:
For me, I got this Golden coloured Buddharupa (it’s bronze metal) from a royal Thai Theravada temple (Wat Rai King) at Nakhon Pathom, Thailand for about 2000bht or about 60 bucks.
It is quite nice and the price is reasonable. It shows the body characteristics of the historical Buddha such as the same length fingers, long arm, straight body with a lion chest. Not carved from precious stone though, just metal based.
Maybe you can save a bit money, once covid19 is gone, you can travel to a Theravada country such as Thailand, Sri Lanka or Myanmar (if it is politically stable & safe) and get one from there.
Having a Buddha statue is quite good actually. It gives me a soothing vibe and have a calming effect. I even set my phone wallpaper to this image haha
3 Likes
Buddha and Brahma statues:
Do you have a vihara near you?
They often have small Buddha statues available for donations.
1 Like
Ahhh, thanks for all of those great suggestions. I would love to go back to Thailand. But I am pretty sure that I could find a great statue for less than the cost of the plane fare.
Thanks for those beautiful pictures!
With Metta!