Seated majestically upright, his body taut and stretched like that of an
archetypal yogi, the Buddha here sits on a double lotus pedestal. His arms
are healthy and strong and the shoulders firm and graceful. The robe
covering his two shoulders is plain except for an arabesque border running
across the four sides. A knot at the center of the chest holds the drape
together.
That the sculptor has deftly carved a robust and strong Buddha is not
without reason. In Buddhist art, Buddha is often deified as the archetypal
healer and granter of health, popularly known as the Medicine Buddha. His
typical iconographical attribute is the right palm facing outwards, and
offering, in a gesture of generosity, a stem of the myrobalan plant. This is
a healing fruit well known in Tibetan medicine, and a symbol here of the
botanical realm's restorative fecundity.
The sculptor has skilfully made his talent evident in the expressive
delineation of the fingers of the right hand, which gently grip the
medicinal plant, and also of the left, which rests contemplatively in his
lap. Buddha sits in the padmasana where the legs are crossed and the soles
of the feet upturned. This is a meditative posture. The soles of both feet
are marked with the auspicious eight-spoked Buddhist wheel, which signifies
the Buddha's teachings. He has a long, yet slightly round face, with a
serene and inward looking expression. It is the pair of half-closed eyes,
framed by arched eyebrows, that lends this introspective character to the
facial demeanour. The ear lobes are exaggeratedly extended, signifying that
they were once hung with heavy and rich earrings. That they are now empty
suggests that Buddha has renounced his princely status. The aquiline nose is
prominent and the thin lips below it pursed in a light smile. On his neck
there are three-curving lines, which symbolize a conch. These are said to
represent his deep and resonant voice, through which Buddha introduced his
followers to the path of Dharma.
The artist has managed to infuse the entire composition with an aura of
intense yet subtle harmony, the defining glory of which is the Buddha's
radiant form, glowing with the splendor of both physical and inner
well-being.
Shakyamuni Buddha is known as the great physician because he has taught the
Dharma which is the antidote to the sickness of suffering within sansara. In
fact, it is believed that the Four Noble Truths laid down by him are based
on the ancient medical formula of diagnosis, cause, prognosis, and
treatment.
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