Sculptural Symbolism

Buddha images throughout Thailand are for the most part, sculpted according to strict iconographical rules found in Buddhist art texts dating to the 3rd century AD. The way the monastic robes drape over the body, the direction in which the hair curls, the proportions for each body part are all to some degree canonized by these texts. The tradition does leave room for innovation, however, allowing the various 'schools' of Buddhist art to distinguish themselves over the centuries. This is also found in the sculptures and paintings of Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan.
 
Mudras are a non-verbal mode of communication, and self-expression. They consist of hand gestures, and finger-postures, and symbolic sign based finger patterns taking the place, but retaining the efficacy of the spoken word. They are used to evoke in the mind ideas which symbolize divine powers. Or, the deities themselves. The composition of a mudra is based on certain movements of the fingers. They constitute a highly stylized form of gestural communication. It is an external expression of 'inner resolve', suggesting that non-verbal communications are more powerful than the spoken word.

They indicate to the faithful in a simple way, the nature and the function of the deities represented. Mudras, therefore, are gestures which symbolize divine manifestation. They are also used by monks in their spiritual exercises of ritual meditation and concentration, and are believed to generate forces that invoke the deity.

One aspect of the tradition that almost never varies are the postures and hand positions of Buddha images. Four basis postures (Pali: asana) are portrayed: standing, sitting, walking and reclining. The first three are associated with daily activities of The Buddha, i.e. teaching, meditating and offering refuge to his disciples, which can be accomplished in any of these three asana. The reclining position represents the Buddha's dying moments when he attained parinibbana or the ultimate nirvana. Another key iconographical element is the figure's mudra or hand position.

Bhumisparsa ('touching the earth')-In this classic mudra the right hand touches the ground while the left rests in the lap. This hand position symbolizes the point in the Buddha's legendary life story when he sat in meditation beneath the banyan tree in Bodh Gaya, India and vowed not to budge from the spot until he gained enlightenment.

Mara, the Buddhist equivalent of Satan, tried to interrupt the Buddha's meditation by invoking a series of distractions (including tempests, floods, feasts and nubile young maidens); the Buddha's response was to touch the earth, thus calling on nature to witness his resolve. The bhumisparsa mudra is one of the most common mudras seen in Thai Buddhist sculpture; it's also known as the marvijaya ('victory over Mara') mudra.

Dhyana ('meditation')-Both hands rest palms up on the Buddha's lap with the right hand on top, signifying meditation.

Vitarka, or Dhammachakka ('exposition' or 'turning of the wheel dharma')-When the thumb, and forefinger of one hand (vitarka) or both hands (dhammachakka) form a circle with the other fingers curving outward (similar to the western 'OK' gesture), the mudra evokes the first public discourse on Buddhist doctrine.

Abhaya ('no fear')-One or both hands extend forward, palms out, fingers pointing upward, to symbolize the Buddha's offer of protection or freedom from fear to his followers. This mudra is most commonly seen in conjunction with standing or walking Buddha's.

Calling for Rain-In Northern Thailand-especially in Chiang Rai, Nan and Phrae provinces (and across the border in Luang Praband, Laos)-one occasionally sees a non-canonical mudra in which the arms of a standing image extend straight downward on each side with the palms facing the thighs. Among Thai worshippers this pose symbolizes a call for rain to nourish the rice fields.