Chapter 31 Section 2 Statue Costumes

We have mentioned above that statues of Bodhisattvas wear necklaces and garlands.Here, let’s briefly talk about the costumes of Buddhist statues. Buddhist statues are strictly graded, and the costumes are strict and distinct. Basically, you can tell which grade they are at a glance: The first level is Buddha.The Buddha statues all wear Buddhist robes, covering the right shoulder or covering both shoulders.Except for the Vairocana Buddha of Tantric Buddhism who wear crowns, they are all bald. Most of the Bodhisattvas are the noble costumes of the ancient South Asian subcontinent and even the countries of the Western Regions.wear a crown.In fact, it is a patchwork of various young men and women from different regions and times mentioned above.After the Southern Song Dynasty, it was gradually sinicized, especially Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.Individual Bodhisattvas, such as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, are dressed as monks.

Arhats are basically dressed as monks. All the gods, ghosts and gods are not monks, but belong to "Dharma protectors".They all dress according to their corresponding positions in the secular society, and they are becoming more and more Chinese.For example, Indra and Brahma, Sun and Moon are all dressed as Chinese emperors and empresses.Some goddesses, such as Auspicious Goddess, Malizhitian, etc., sometimes wear wreaths.Clothes such as Jiyuetian, Feitian, and Bodhisattvas tend to be more ornate, and it is inevitable to wear wreaths.Heavenly kings and others are often worn by generals from the Western Regions and Middle Ages in China.In short, it is becoming more and more Chinese.

The portrait of the patriarch is of course the true color of a monk.