Statues

[Mohsin]

Regards to all.
I just wanted to know something. Please, do not take this as an offencive statement, I just want to confirm something.
When the Talibans destroyes the Buddhists statues, a Muslim scholor was asked a question publically that how do you justify it. Now even I think that the Taliban should not have done that. There could have been alternatives. The scholor also said that they could have found alternatives, but also said that I have read the scriptures of Buddhism, and no where does it say that you should make statues of Buddah.
I want to know if it is true?

[samabudhi]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

Regards to all.
I just wanted to know something. Please, do not take this as an offencive statement, I just want to confirm something.
When the Talibans destroyes the Buddhists statues, a Muslim scholor was asked a question publically that how do you justify it. Now even I think that the Taliban should not have done that. There could have been alternatives. The scholor also said that they could have found alternatives, but also said that I have read the scriptures of Buddhism, and no where does it say that you should make statues of Buddah.
I want to know if it is true?

There were no statues of Buddha made until well after his death. The practice of not representing him in human form (as opposed to symbols such as his feet, a wheel or a tree) was observed until Buddhism spread to Bactria where the Greeks decided they wanted to make statues of him. So the first statues of the Buddha were in Greco-Roman style.
There is no tenet or any rule outside the core scriptures that states that one cannot represent the Buddha in his human form. So we're not quite sure why this was the case for many years.

What is important is that the Buddha said it does not matter what happens to worldly possessions. A statue is just a statue. So whether the statues of Bamiyan remained standing or whether they were destroyed is neither here nor there. All things come to an end anyway.
On the other hand, those who would purposefully destroy a statue, who know full well that there are people who care about them, will get their due karma.

[Vajradhara]

Namaste moshin,

thank you for the post.

Originally Posted by Mohsin

Regards to all.
I just wanted to know something. Please, do not take this as an offencive statement, I just want to confirm something.
When the Talibans destroyes the Buddhists statues, a Muslim scholor was asked a question publically that how do you justify it. Now even I think that the Taliban should not have done that. There could have been alternatives. The scholor also said that they could have found alternatives, but also said that I have read the scriptures of Buddhism, and no where does it say that you should make statues of Buddah.
I want to know if it is true?

you are correct, there is no place in the Buddhist canon that instructs it's followers to make images of the Buddha.

in fact, there were no images of the Buddha until the Bactarian Greeks arrived in the Subcontinent.

the use of images in Buddhism and Hinduism, for that matter, are a great source of controversy in discussions with monotheists as such, this is a good area for the two views to have productive conversation.

generally speaking, the Buddhist use of an image of Buddha or a Bodhisattva is a method to turn ones mind to the aspect of Awakening that said Buddha or Bodhisattva represents. for instance... the statue of Avolekiteshavara (Chenrezig in Tibet and Kwan Yin in China) represents the motherly aspect of compassion.

a statue or Thangka (religious painting, Tibet) functions, for us, much the same as a statue of Jesus or Mary does for a Christian or the Black Rock of the Kabaa for a Muslim. they are external means of turning our minds towards wholesome thoughts for the benefit of all sentient beings.

one of the areas that this can lead to is the belief that Buddhists or Hindus are worshipping the statues that are on their alters. whilst i cannot say that this is incorrect in every single instance, i can say that this isn't something that is taught in the Buddhist tradition. individuals may do all sorts of things which aren't taught as part of a religious tradition.. as i'm sure you are well aware.

we don't seem to have many Hindu posters, so you may not get much feedback in that area... though we have several other Buddhist posters and i'm sure they will offer you feedback on this as well.

[Zazen]

"On the other hand, those who would purposefully destroy a statue, who know full well that there are people who care about them, will get their due karma."

lol

[Mohsin]

Thanks for the reply guys.

[Mus Zibii]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

... but also said that I have read the scriptures of Buddhism, and no where does it say that you should make statues of Buddah.
I want to know if it is true?

Of all the things the Taliban are credited for doing, that bothered me the most, oddly enough. LOL But even I thought the same thing. Everytime I see these fat 'Buddha' statues I have to wonder, who's this?

That's an anecdote not an answer, though. I just wish they'd gone for all the velvet portraits of Jesus first. Jeez, I hate those things.

[samabudhi]

Be happy!

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,52704,00.html
http://www.photogrammetry.ethz.ch/research/bamiyan/