Buddha Life Story Thangka

In the Life of Buddha paintings, we can see the historic phases of the Siddhartha Gautama both before and after his enlightenment. The painting starts from the top and moves towards the anti-clockwise direction. The story starts from the top left and ends right at the center where he reaches the stage of Nirvana.

Gautama Buddha was born in 563 BCE. also known as Siddhartha Gautama or simply Buddha. Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism. He is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened teacher who attained full Buddhahood and shared his insights to help sentient beings end rebirth and suffering.

Accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral traditional first committed to writing about 400 years later.

The Painting Describes 12 different phase of Buddha's life. They are:

His Promise to Take Birth in the Human Realm

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] Buddha Holding a Lotus Promises to Manifest Himself on the Earth[/caption]

Queen Maya Devi's  Dream

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] Maya Devi's dream[/caption]

The Birth of Buddha

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] The birth of Buddha.[/caption]

Accomplishment in Worldly Arts and Athletics

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] Accomplishment in Worldly Arts and Athletics[/caption]

The Skilful Conduct of Worldly Affairs

[caption align="aligncenter" width="269"] The Skilful Conduct of Worldly Affairs[/caption]

The Four Encounters

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Four Encounters[/caption]

The Renunciation of Worldly Life

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] The first thing Gautam Buddha did after leaving his father's palace was severe his long and beautiful hair with his princely blade.[/caption]

The Six Years of Austerities

[caption align="aligncenter" width="226"] Wandering in his search for enlightenment, Buddha came to a pleasant hermitage by a lovely stream, where, for six years, he joined five mendicants in a way of discipline based on progressively severe fasting.[/caption]

The Defeat of Mara

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Defeat of Mara[/caption]

The Proclamation of the Teachings

[caption align="aligncenter" width="289"] The Proclamation of the Teachings[/caption]

The Descent from the Trayatrimsa Heaven

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Descent from the Trayatrimsa Heaven[/caption]

The Passages into Parinirvana

[caption align="aligncenter" width="300"] Buddha Entering Nirvana[/caption]