Buddha Statues : What are they for?

Recently, I came across a man who collected statues of Buddha. Even though he was not a Buddhist, he claimed to have felt the sense of calm from the statues. Someone told him that his collection of Buddha statues may be blasphemous as he was not a Buddhist. He inquired if it was true or not. Well, the simple answer from my side was a big "NO".

These statues symbolize calmness and peace of mind. They come in various forms, Mudras and in various styles. These statues often have different places of origins and their styles differ according to the place of their origins. The most famous representation of Buddha statues is of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha. Others represent various aspects of Buddha's teachings and the events of his life.

In early 2001, when Afghanistan was still controlled by the Taliban, who decided to destroyed two enormous Buddha statues in a mountainside. They considered these statues as an insult to their religious beliefs. The news disturbed the historical and artistic communities all over the world. From their point of view, the statues were an important pieces of ancient art. Even, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York offered the insurgent government $20 million to spare the statues. I did agree that it was not a good thing for the statues to be destroyed but I disagreed with the museum's effort to save them. Buddhism teaches impermanence. Non attachment is one of the main teaching of the Buddha. The effort to give money to the Talibans just to save some statues contradicted the enlightened one's teachings and sermons because, even if all the Buddha statues in the world were destroyed, or if they would cease to exist, the divine teachings or the Dharma teachings would never cease to continue. The philosophy of Buddhism would not die.

Buddhist do not take Buddha statues as the objects of worship. After all, they are just statues. There is am interesting Buddhist story which illustrates this point. Hundreds of years ago, a Zen monk stopped at a temple for shelter in the middle of a winter night with freezing temperature. The insides of the temple was not much warmer than the outside. The freezing temperature made the resident monks shiver as the fire was almost out with nothing more to burn. Then, the wandering monk bowed to the woodenBuddha statue and threw it into the fire. He then proclaimed, "Now it is finally good for something". After all, it was just a statue.

There is a huge difference between respect and worship. When anyone worships a statue or an image, it should be out of respect. Any attack or insult directed at this object results in anger of the followers. The blasphemer must pay for their sins. There are wars, people die, all because the objects are disrespected and not properly worshiped. Bowing or offering incense to the statues are the acts of respect and gratitude towards the Buddha's teachings but not for the statue itself. the Buddha attained enlightenment and experienced his own awakening  and later chose to share his knowledge with everyone. The statues represent his generosity and we should be grateful for that.