New-Age-Center

By: Cameron Holman
Buddhist Culture is known as one of the oldest cultures in the world. It's more than twenty-five centuries old. The ideals and idea of Buddhists have guided innumerable people around the globe. Buddhism culture is principally related to the knowledge of "Siddhartha Gautama" popularly known as "Buddha". The names of two most important branches of Buddhism are "Theravada" and "Mahayana". In the ancient times people did not use the statues of Buddha for worship. Instead, they preferred to symbolize the Buddha. Some basic Buddhism symbols are Buddha's footprint, stupa, dharma wheel and the lotus. As Buddhism ideas spread around the globe, it also helped Buddhism symbols to reach many new and different people.

The most common Buddhism symbol is the Buddha's footprint. According to Buddhists these footprints of the Buddha symbolize the bodily occurrence of the Lord. These images were reproduced from ancient stones at Bodh Gaya, India. It is the place of Buddha's enlightenment. This Buddhism symbol has some more symbols within it like swastikas, lotuses and dharma-wheels. These footprints exist in many countries like India, China, Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. According to traditions, the legend of Buddhists say that after the Buddha attained enlightenment, his foot created an impression in the pebble where he stepped.

Another Buddhism symbol is stupa. The basic meaning of stupa is "heap". It is a structure like knoll which contains Buddhist leftovers. So in this way these stupas are very holy for these people. These stupas are vitally made up of five constituent parts. Each part has its own meaning and representation. There is a square base in stupa which represents earth. The hemispherical part represents water. The conical portion represents fire. There is a crescent moon which is the symbol of air and the dissolving point as well as the circular disc which represents space.

The Lotus and the Dharma-wheel are the other parts of these symbols. The lotus is deep-rooted in mud however the blossom is open in the sun. It appears very good-looking and fragrant. In Buddhism the lotus represents the real character of beings, who ascend through "samsara" ("samsara" is a process of defining the cycle of birth, death and rebirth in Buddhism and Hinduism) into the simplicity and magnificence of enlightenment. Dharma-wheel contains eight spokes. They represent the eightfold path. According to traditions, it symbolizes the Buddha's spinning the Wheel of Law or reality.

Some other important Buddhism Symbols are various colors. The special five colors are white, yellow, red, blue and green. Like white color is considered to include an extremely chilly quality, as in snow, or a very burning quality, such as a flaming metal. Either can threaten life as well as it reminds us of bereavement with the ending of things. It also represents cleanliness, holiness and purity. Moreover it also tells us to lead out further than the dimness of bondage. These colors symbolize a condition of mind. It is well-believed that spiritual transformations can be achieved with the help of meditation on these different colors.

For fun facts on Buddhism, visit Buddhism Facts!

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