Buddhist Antiques, Asian and Indian Artifacts, Stone Teaching Buddha

14th Century Frieze

Teaching Buddha

This stone frieze from the 14th Century in India shows the Buddha in the classic teaching pose, making the dharma available after he was enlightened under the Bodhi tree. He is flanked on either side by eagerly listening disciples. Seated on the arch above his head is the figure of a turtle. This frieze therefore refers to the image the Buddha used in speaking to his disciples of the precious and rare opportunity of human birth in which to practice the dharma. The image was this: Imagine that the whole earth is covered in the water of the sea, and you throw a yoke into that water. It floats on the surface and is blown this way and that. Every one hundred years a blind turtle rises to the surface of the sea. How likely would it be that the turtle would put its head through the yoke? The answer, of course, is that it would be extremely unlikely and exceedingly rare. That is how rare and precious is human birth and the opportunity to practice the dharma.