A reclining Buddha is an image that represents

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

lying down and is a major iconographic theme in

Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, an ...

. It represents the

historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

during his last illness, about to enter the

parinirvana In Buddhism, ''parinirvana'' ( Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') is commonly used to refer to nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth ...

. He is lying on his right side, his head resting on a cushion or relying on his right elbow, supporting his head with his hand. This pattern seems to have emerged at the same time as other representations of the Buddha in the

Greco-Buddhist art The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara. The ...

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

In Thai art

For Thai Buddha attitudes ( th, ปางพระพุทธรูป; ), the reclining Buddha ( th, ปางไสยาสน์; ) can refer to three different episodes, whilst the attribute of each remains unclear. *

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...

attitude ( th, ปางปรินิพพาน; ) * Teaching the Rahu Asurin attitude ( th, ปางโปรดอสุรินทราหู; ) * Sleeping attitude ( th, ปางทรงพระสุบิน; )

Notable examples

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

: * Winsein Tawya Buddha (

Mawlamyaing Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...

) - * Thanboddhay Pagoda (

Monywa Monywa (; ) is the largest city in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, located north-west of Mandalay on the eastern bank of the River Chindwin. Monywa is one of the largest economic cities in Myanmar. It is also known as Neem city because many of the c ...

) - * Myathalyaung Buddha ( Bago) - * Lawka Tharahpu Buddha (

Dawei Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...

) - *

Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple ( my, ခြောက်ထပ်ကြီးဘုရားကြီး) is the most well-known Buddhist temple in Bahan Township, Yangon, Yangon Region, Myanmar. It houses one of the most revered reclining Buddha imag ...

(

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

) - *

Shwethalyaung Buddha The Shwethalyaung Temple ( my, ရွှေသာလျှောင်းဘုရား is a Buddhist temple in the west side of Bago (Pegu), Myanmar. Shwethalyaung Buddha statue The Shwethalyaung Buddha is a reclining Buddha statue Muc ...

( Bago) - * Manuha Temple (Bagan) *

Phowintaung Phowintaung ( my, ဖိုလ်ဝင်တောင် , also spelt as Hpowindaung, Powintaung, Po Win Taung) is a Buddhist cave complex located approximately west of Monywa and southeast of Yinmabin, in Yinmabin Township, Monywa District, ...

, near

Reclining-Buddha at Linh Son Buddhist Temple -- Santa Fe, Texas

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

: * West side of the Baphuon in

Angkor Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...

* Monolithic Buddha of the

Phnom Kulen Phnom Kulen (or Kulen Mountain; km, ភ្នំគូលែន, ; ) is a mountain range and a part of Phnom Kulen National Park in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. Geography Rather than a hill range, Phnom Kulen is an isolated chain of small m ...

(lying on his left side) * Golden gilded Buddha on Sambok Mountain in Kratié Province (on his right side)

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Dafo Temple, Zhangye The Dafo Temple or Great Buddha Temple () is a Buddhist temple in Zhangye, Gansu, China, notable for its gigantic reclining Buddha statue made around 1100 during the Western Xia period, which is thirty-five metres long. After a restoration projec ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

: * Bhamala Buddha Parinirvana which is 1,800 years old, oldest in the world.

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

: * Cave #26 of Ajanta

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

: * Maha Vihara Mojopahit,

Trowulan Trowulan is an archaeological site in Trowulan Subdistrict, Mojokerto Regency, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It includes approximately 100 square kilometres and has been theorized to be the site of the eponymous capital city of the ...

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

* Kongōbu-ji at

Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the south of Osaka. In the strictest sense, ''Mount Kōya'' is the mountain name ( sangō) of Kongōbu-ji Temple, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Kōyasan sect of Shingon B ...

. * Nanzoin temple, in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, K ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

: *

Wat Chayamangkalaram Wat Chayamangkalaram ( th, วัดไชยมังคลาราม; ) (also called as the Chayamangkalaram Buddhist Temple) is a Thai temple in Pulau Tikus suburb of George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Situated in Kelawei Road, the temple ...

in Pulau Tikus,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

Sam Poh Tong Temple zh, 三寶洞 , image = , caption = Front view of the temple , location = Ipoh , coordinates = , religious_affiliation = Buddhism , district = , state = P ...

in Ipoh,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

Wat Phothivihan Wat Photivihan ( th, วัดโพธิวิหาร; ) (also called as the Phothivihan Buddhist Temple) or Wat Yamu ( th, วัดยามู), is a Thai temple in Tumpat District, Kelantan, Malaysia. It is one of 25 temples found in Tu ...

in Tumpat,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in t ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

: *

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre af ...

* Gal Vihara in

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...

(12th century)

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

: * Buddha in Nirvana of Ajina-Tepa (13 meters long), on display in the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

: * Wat Dhammachaksemaram (reclining Buddha of the 7th century in

Dvaravati The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th cen ...

style coming from Muang Sema) * Wat Lokaya Sutharam in Ayutthaya *

Wat Pho Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Recl ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

*Linh Son Temple in Santa Fe, Texas

References

External links

{{Portal, art, Religion Buddha statues Buddhist iconography

In Thai art

Notable examples

See also

References

External links