Shakyamuni Buddha Banner - Five Print

Shakyamuni Buddha Banner (background) Woven wall hanging - approximately 47 inches by 16.5 inches. Five images. Brocade border with fringe. Made in Nepal. Touching the earth (Bhumisparsa mudra): the right hand rests on the right thigh with the fingers pointing downwards and touching the earth (not always literally, as can be seen in the image at the top of this page). The left hand rests in the dhyana mudra position in the Buddha's lap. This mudra is frequently called "calling the earth to witness," or by its more literal meaning, "Buddha subduing Mara" - Mara is the demon who tempted the Buddha by trying to seduce him with the vision of all the ephemeral objects of desire that this world holds. The gesture thus symbolizes the Buddha's renunciation of worldly desire, and since this is the central moral precept of Buddhism this is by far the most commonly depicted mudra. Shakyamuni, Sage of the Shakyas. Sometimes called "Lion of The Shakya Clan." The historical Buddha, born to the Gautama family and given the name Siddhartha, approximately 2500 years ago, somewhat more than 200 years before the Maurya king Asoka (273-232 before common era 'BCE'). There have been many Buddhas, but Shakyamuni is the one who has made it easiest to achieve liberation through practice of meditating on him. His pure land is open to anyone who has the devotion and desire to go there, whereas the pure lands of other Buddhas sometimes have very particular rules about who can and cannot enter. Shakyamuni promised, "Whosoever visualizes me with a combination of concentration and devotion, in front of them I will be, even if they cannot see me; and I will never forsake them."