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Meditative postures or meditation seats are the body positions or asanas, usually sitting but also sometimes standing or reclining, used to facilitate meditation. Best known in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are the lotus and kneeling positions; other options include sitting on a chair, with the spine upright.
The Buddha is always represented with certain physical attributes, and in specified dress and specified poses. Each pose, and particularly the position and gestures of the Buddha's hands, has a defined meaning which is familiar to Buddhists. In other Buddhist countries, different but related iconography is used, for example the mudras in Indian ...
Mudra is used in the iconography of Hindu and Buddhist art of the Indian subcontinent and described in the scriptures, such as Nātyaśāstra, which lists 24 asaṁyuta ("separated", meaning "one-hand") and 13 saṁyuta ("joined", meaning "two-hand") mudras. Mudra positions are usually formed by both the hand and the fingers.
Both can be seated in the Vajraparyanka (also known as Bhūmisparśa) pose, with the right hand on the right knee, palm turned inwardly, and middle finger touching the ground. [ 7 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] Amitābha (Japanese: Amida) is the most ancient Dhyani Buddha, embodying light and facing west, and is the central figure in Pure Land Buddhism.
The symbolic meaning of the dispelling fear pose is an interpretation of the action of preaching. It is said that one gains fearlessness by following the Bodhisattva path. Images of Buddha showing him reclining, represent his Parinirvana or departure into final nirvana at death.
Buddha in parinirvana, Gandhara art, 2nd or 3rd century Buddha entering nirvana, Bắc Ninh province, Vietnam, 17th century AD. A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. [1]
The pose is typical in depictions of kings, and sometimes queens and court notables, in early Buddhist sculpture (broadly dating from c. 100 BCE to 200 CE) from sites such as Sanchi, Bharhut and Amaravati. Mostly these show scenes from the life or earlier lives of the Buddha, but there are other secular scenes. [13]
The name comes from the Sanskrit words बद्ध, Baddha meaning "bound", कोण, Koṇa meaning "angle", [5] and आसन, Āsana meaning "posture" or "seat". [6]The name Baddha Konasana is relatively recent, but the pose is medieval, as the meditation seat Bhadrasana (from भद्रा Bhadra, "throne" [7]) is described in the 15th century Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā 1.53-54.