Kadam Wood/ WhiteWood Carvings - Reclining Buddha


Reclining Buddha also known as Nehanzo (meaning Nirvana)

The history of wooden handicrafts of India can be traced to ancient times. Ancient India highlights wood as a medium for manufacturing daily usable items, utensils, axes, toys and dolls for children crafted with wood. Excavations at Indus valley civilization have proved the existence of woodcrafts. Creative woodwork began as a temple and palace expertise and increased together with architecture and sculpture. Depending on local accessibility, diverse woods were used for wood carving and fashioned into spiritual, attractive and useful pieces. Over time, various centres of wood carving appeared, each with its different style. 

The reclining Buddha is an iconographic representation of the Buddha lying down during the moment of his Mahaparinirvana. It is one of the popular iconographic patterns in Buddhism as they represent the historical Shakyamuni Buddha during his last moments of illness. With reclining Buddha statues, the Buddha is seen lying on the right side while his head is supported by his right hand.
This particular pattern of posture in the Buddha's life seems to have originated at the same time as the other symbols and images of the Buddha, most notably in the Greek influenced Gandharan period Buddhist arts and have been followed by many other regions in their Buddhist art to represent one of the pivotal moments of the Buddha's life. This particular position of the Buddha is better known as themahaparinirvanasana in Buddhism. Buddha is said to have known that his death was approaching while in this position, the Buddha asked his disciples to make a couch for him in a bush to make it easy for him to lie down. Although he had attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, as a human being, the Buddha had to leave his physical appearance. This moment is believed to have taken place in Kushinagara in India when he was eighty years old. Therefore this physical demise of the awakened world is termed as Mahaparinirvana, the state beyond Nirvana.
The reclining Buddha statues are not supposed to induce the state of sadness to the followers but rather the reclining Buddha should be taken as an object of encouragement that all beings have the potential to be awakened or enlightened and release themselves from the suffering which is characterized by the cycle of rebirth. The serene and smiling expression of the Buddha in reclining Buddha statue portray the compassion and calmness that comes with the enlightenment. There are many iconic reclining Buddha statues all over the Buddhist nations like Chaukhtatgyi Paya in Burma, Dambulla in Sri Lanka, Wat Pho in Thailand, Monolithic Buddha in Cambodia and many more. These reclining Buddhas are taken as the objects of great importance both in religious as well as tourism point of view.

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