Eric Fu Course: Art and Meditation Buddhist Statues Abstract Buddhism first originated in South Asia and eventually began to spread throughout into Eastern India. The religion was widely accepted by the population who were interested in learning about Buddhism. The first original Buddhist statue was created during the 1st or 2nd century AD in Bactria (Afghanistan and northern Pakistan). A Greek King (Alexander the Great) was in fact responsible for creating the very first Buddhist statue. Originally these statues were constructed out of certain types of sacred wood. Interestingly enough, they were not intended to be viewed by the general public or for displayed in exhibitions. Instead, the main purpose of these statues were for an individual’s own personal style to view. As time continued to progress, these statues were eventually constructed out of clay or by stone. It was often claimed these Buddhist statues were important to Buddhists. The reason is because they believed it gave them the sense of considering themselves as Buddha. However, this belief and assumption are not entirely correct and accurate. Buddhists did not worship these statues whenever they are praying. The Buddhist statues served as only a symbol of being helpful in creating devotion, uplifting their …show more content…
In every statue, there are unique features. All of these features have a symbolic meaning related to them. Also, they have important relations to the story of Buddha. In the very beginning, none of these statues even existed before. It was only when the first statue was created that more Buddhists began to create many statues afterwards. The reason why Buddhist statues are so important to Buddhists is because they regard and consider Buddha as being there benevolent teacher. I consider Buddha my teacher as well. I can learn a lot by performing good deeds such as helping individuals who are less fortunate than