 A lot of people ask us "What does this Buddha statue mean?" What they are really asking is, "What does the posture of this Buddha statue mean?", since the posture of the statue has a particular reference to an event in the life of the Buddha.
Also referred to as an Attitude, there are over 100 poses illustrating the life of the Buddha. And each posture will have a specific hand gesture (called a Mudra) associated with the posture. An example would be with both hands folded face-up, resting in the lap. This is the attitude of meditation. (See photo on the left, or click this link for Meditation Buddha Statues).
 There are many other common poses as well, with the most common pose you will find in Thai temples is with the legs crossed, the left hand in the lap, and the right hand pointing to the ground with the palm facing inward toward the Buddha. This posture is known as Calling The Earth to Witness, and it relates to the moment of enlightenment for the Buddha.
 It is the story of how the Buddha meditated all night to overcome the fears and temptations sent by the demon Mara to defeat the Buddha. Instead, the Buddha called the Earth Goddess to witness that the Buddha achieved enlightenment in order to share with the rest of the world. Witnessing that, the Earth Goddess wrang her hair, releasing flood waters that swept away the Demon Mara and all the temptresses he had released. You can see an image depicting the Earth Goddess on the left.
There are many other common poses, and here is just brief explanation of their meanings, but to get a more accurate description, please go to our Main Buddha Statues Page and click on a photo of a statue. The link will take you to the information page which will explain the meaning behind the posture.
Right Hand Raised - Protection from evil, warding off fear.
Right Hand Pointing Down Facing Outward - This is the posture of bestowing a blessing on mankind. If there is a bowl filled ith a plant resting in the left hand of the Buddha, then it is a statue of the Medicine Buddha. This particular statue is from Tibetan Buddhism, as they believe that the knowledge of medicine was a gift from the Buddha to mankind.
Right Hand Making a Circle - This is the mudra for perfection, or the argument of perfection, by the Buddha.
 Another thing you might be interested in is that there is a special Buddha attitude for each person depending on which day of the week you were born? (The Thai zodiac puts as much importance on the day of the week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. - as on the actual date of the month). So everyone born on a Monday would have one special posture, while everyone born on a Thrusday would have a different posture. If you would like to see which posture is the one for the day you were born, then please see this blog on Buddha images for each day of the week. See Richard's photo below to get a preview of some different images.
Thanks again for reading and until next time,
Ms. Jay
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