Whenever we linger in the temple, we are always deeply attracted by the lifelike Buddha statues, especially the half-closed and half-open eyes, which seem to contain deep wisdom and compassion. Have you ever wondered why no matter which temple or which Buddha statue, it seems to maintain the same eye posture? This has to mention a small story shared by Mr. Nan Huaijin, about the unique meaning of the Buddha's eyes half-open and half-closed.
Although Nan Huaijin's mother believes in Buddhism, she is not very familiar with Buddhism, and in the face of her son's curious question, she gave a simple and philosophical answer: "There are too many disturbances in the world, and the Buddha can only be disturbed by the world by half-closing his eyes." However, this is only a folk understanding, and in fact the Buddha statue has a more profound Buddhist connotation with its eyes half-opened. It is said that the "outside of the two points and inside the eight points of view" of the Buddha's eyes symbolizes the Buddha's reluctance to give up on all sentient beings, and he is not willing to completely ignore the suffering of the world, but he is unable to look directly at all the suffering so as not to grieve too much. This also implies that practitioners need to understand the world with their hearts and minds, and to achieve a state of meditation through both internal and external practice.
Having said that, Buddhism** also follows similar visual rules when sitting in meditation. Completely closed eyes are easy to make people drowsy, and fully open eyes are easy to be pulled by external objects. Therefore, when meditating, we often take a half-closed posture and focus our eyes on the tip of the nose, so as to condense the spirit and realize the meditation realm of "seeing the nose with the eyes and the nose at the mind". This seemingly insignificant detail is actually teaching us to cultivate ourselves, to always look at our own faults, not to focus on others, and to reflect on ourselves first when encountering things, rather than easily blaming others.
In addition, from an artistic and psychological point of view, the reason why the Buddha statue is designed with half-open eyes is also to create a gentle and intimate atmosphere. Think about it, if the Buddha statue stands majestically with wide eyes, even if the Buddha is merciful, I am afraid that it will cause awe and even fear among believers. Just like the classic saying, "King Kong is angry, so surrender the four demons; The Bodhisattva lowered his eyebrows, so there are six paths of compassion", the eyes of the Buddha statue convey this tolerance and acceptance. When you look up at the Buddha statue after your prayer, your half-closed eyes seem to whisper, "Child, I'm here, everything will be fine." ”
Dear readers, unlocking the artistic code of the Buddha's eyes allows us to comprehend a deeper Zen in ordinary life. The next time you walk into the temple and face the familiar half-closed eyes, you may be able to have more inner peace and thought. If you are also moved by this article revealing the story behind the Buddha statue, welcome to follow, collect and share, so that more people can grow together on the road of spiritual exploration, and we will see you next time!