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TheBuddha, famous all over the world as thelight of Asia, has been the symbol of peace, harmony, wisdom and conscience. A prince in his early days, he left the happiness of the palace to look out for the truth and meaning of life. After years of meditation and travelling as an ascetic from places to places, he attainedenlightenmentor became awakened. He then taught and passed on his knowledge to many followers and helped them know the true meaning of life and the happiness they could get after knowing the right purpose. These teachings later became the basic principles of a religion,Buddhism, which has become one of the largest religions in the world.
Buddhismspread across the continent of Asia gradually but it adapted the local culture instead of making the locals accept the culture of the home ofBuddhism. This is probably one of the main reasons for people to embrace Buddhism with ease. This also helped theBuddhist artto flourish well in these regions. Countries likeBurma,China,Japan,Thailand,Nepal,Japan, etc have their own styles and variations ofBuddhist arts. Even though they varied in styles, the symbols and meanings of theseBuddhist artremained somewhat similar for all of theBuddha statuesandBuddha imagesfrom these regions. One of such symbols of which the meanings have been the same is theeyes of the Buddha.
Meaning of the eyes
On virtually everyBuddha statues,Buddha headsandBuddha stupa(Buddhist shrines) from countries likeIndia,Nepal,Thailand,Burma,Chinaand others, there are pairs of eyes casting down as if in a meditation state, and enriched with a spiritual aura. This style has been a model for various generations of artists while depicting them in variousBuddha headsandBuddha images. In Buddhism, there are two kinds of eyes, first the inner eyes or eyes of wisdom, which sees the world ofDhamma, which is also known as theThird eye of the Buddha, while the other is called the outer eyes which is also called as material eyes which sees the outer world. Therefore, it may be seen and understood easily that the eyes in theBuddha statuesand Buddha heads are also of two kinds. The material eyes are the two eyes which see the outer world while the inner eyes, or the one which sees the Dhamma is the one in the middle of the two material eyes. This inner eye is also known asthe urna.
Eyes of the Stupas
While instupas, there are giant pairs of eyes looking out from the four sides of the main tower of the stupa. These are also known asBuddha eyesand wisdom eyes. The eyes of the Buddha in the stupa symbolize the all-seeing ability ofthe Buddha.
Hence, according toBuddhism, we can say that if we are wise, we can see beyond material things. What we then see can is the truth. The world is in a muddle now because people don’t use their eye of Wisdom to see things. People are distracted and deluded by greed, hatred and ignorance. These desires mix them up, or bring them down and then lead us to suffering. People become distressed, depressed, anxious and suffer. These things can be called the darkness of life. Only wisdom will lead the world out of the darkness.
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