Buddhist symbolism

Buddhist symbolism is the use of symbols to represent certain aspects of the Buddha's Dhamma. Early Buddhist symbols which remain important today include the Dhamma wheel, the Indian lotus, the three jewels, Buddha footprint, and the Bodhi Tree.
Buddhism symbolism is intended to represent the key values of the Buddhist faith. The popularity of certain symbols has grown and changed over time as a result of the evolution of its followers' ideologies. Research has shown that the aesthetic perception of the Buddhist gesture symbol positively influenced perceived happiness and life satisfaction.
Anthropomorphic symbolism depicting the Buddha became very popular around the first century CE with the arts of Mathura and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara. New symbols continued to develop into the medieval period, with Vajrayana Buddhism adopting further symbols such as the stylized double vajra. In the modern era, new symbols like the Buddhist flag were also adopted.
Many
symbols are depicted in early Buddhist art. Many of these are ancient, pre-Buddhist and pan-Indian symbols of auspiciousness. According to Karlsson, Buddhists adopted these signs because "they were meaningful, important and well-known to the majority of the people in India." They also may have had apotropaic uses, and thus they "must have been a way for Buddhists to protect themselves, but also a way of popularizing and strengthening the Buddhist movement."
At its founding in 1952, the World Fellowship of Buddhists adopted two symbols to represent Buddhism. These were a traditional eight-spoked Dhamma wheel and the five-colored flag.

Early Buddhist symbols

The earliest Buddhist art is from the Mauryan era, there is little archeological evidence for pre-Mauryan period symbolism. Early Buddhist art is commonly aniconic, and instead used various symbols to depict the Buddha. The best examples of this aniconic period symbolism can be found at sites like Sanchi, Amaravati, Bharhut, Bodhgaya and Sarnath. According to Karlsson, three specific signs, the Bodhi tree, the Dharma wheel, and the stupa, occur frequently at all these major sites and thus "the earliest Buddhist cult practice focused on these three objects".
Among the earliest and most common Buddhist symbols found in these early Buddhist sites are the stupa, the Dharma wheel, the Bodhi Tree, the triratna, the vajra seat, the lotus flower, and the Buddha footprint. Several animals are also widely depicted, such as elephants, lions, nāga and deer. Contemporary Buddhist art contains numerous symbols, including unique symbols not found in early Buddhism.

Southeast Asian Buddhist symbols

Buddhist art is strongly influenced by the Indian Buddhist art styles like the Amaravati and Gupta styles. Thus, Theravada Buddhism retained most of the classic Indian Buddhist symbols such as the Dharma wheel, though in many cases, these symbols became more elaborately decorated with gold, jewels and other designs.
Different artistic styles also developed throughout the Theravada world as well as unique ways of depicting the Buddha containing their own ways of using Buddhist symbols.

East Asian Buddhist symbols

adopted many of the classic Buddhist symbolism outlined above. During the Tang dynasty Buddhist symbolism became widespread, and symbols like the swastika and the Dharma wheel became well known in China. There were also more elaborate symbols, like Buddhist mandalas and complex images of Buddhas and bodhisattva figures.
There are also some symbols that are generally unique to East Asian Buddhism, including the purple robe, the ruyi scepter, the "wooden fish", the ring staff, The Eighteen Arhats the "ever burning lamp" and various kinds of Buddhist amulets or charms, such as Japanese omamori and ofuda, and Chinese fu or fulu.
Chinese Buddhism also adopted traditional pre-Buddhist Chinese symbols and deities, including money trees, Chinese dragons, and Chinese gods like the Jade Emperor and various generals like Guan Yu. Japanese Buddhism also developed some unique symbols of its own. For example, in Japanese Zen, a widely used symbol is the ensō, a hand-drawn black circle.

Vajrayana Buddhist symbols

Mantric Buddhism or Vajrayana has numerous esoteric symbols which are not common in other forms of Buddhism.
The vajra is a key symbol in Vajrayana Buddhism. It represents indestructibility, emptiness as well as power. According to Beer, it represents "the impenetrable, imperishable, immovable, immutable, indivisible, and indestructible state of absolute reality, which is the enlightenment of Buddhahood." The vajra is often paired with a bell, which represents the feminine principle of wisdom. When paired together, they represent the perfect union of wisdom or emptiness and method or skilful means. There is also what is called the "crossed vajra", which has four vajra heads emanating from a central hub.
Other tantric ritual symbols include the ritual knife, tantric staff, the skull cup, the flaying knife, hand drum and the thigh bone trumpet.
Other Vajrayana symbols popular in Tibetan Buddhism include the bhavacakra, mandalas, the number 108 and the Buddha eyes commonly seen on Nepalese stupas such as at Boudhanath.
There are various mythical creatures used in Vajrayana art as well: Snow Lion, Wind Horse, dragon, garuda and tiger. The popular mantra "Om mani padme hum" is widely used to symbolize compassion and is commonly seen inscribed on rocks, prayer wheels, stupas and art. In Dzogchen, the mirror is one important symbol of rigpa.

Tibetan Buddhist architecture

Tibetan Buddhist architecture is centered on the stupa, called in Tibetan. The chörten consists of five parts that represent the mahābhūta. The base is square which represents the earth element, above that sits a dome representing water, on that is a cone representing fire, on the tip of the cone is a crescent representing air, inside the crescent is a flame representing ether. The tapering of the flame to a point can also be said to represent consciousness as a sixth element. The chörten presents these elements of the body in the order of the process of dissolution at death.
Tibetan temples are often three-storied. The three can represent many aspects such as the Trikaya of a Buddha. The ground story may have a statue of the historical Buddha Gautama and depictions of Earth and so represent the nirmāṇakāya. The first story may have Buddha and elaborate ornamentation representing rising above the human condition and the sambhogakāya. The second story may have a primordial Adi-Buddha in Yab-Yum and be otherwise unadorned representing a return to the absolute reality and the dharmakāya "truth body".

Colour in Tibetan Buddhism

In Tibetan Buddhist art, various colors and elements are associated with the five Buddha families and other aspects and symbols:

Colour	Symbolises	Buddha	Direction	Element	Transforming effect	Syllable
White	Purity, primordial being	Vairocana	East	Space	Ignorance → Awareness of reality	Om
Green	Peace, protection from harm	Amoghasiddhi	North	Wind	jealousy → Accomplishing pristine awareness	Ma
Yellow	Wealth, beauty	Ratnasaṃbhava	South	Earth	Pride → Awareness of sameness	Ni
Blue	Knowledge, dark blue also awakening/enlightenment	Akṣobhya	Centre	Water	Anger → "Mirror-like" awareness	Pad
Red	Love, compassion	Amitābha	West	Fire	Attachment → Discernment/ discrimination	Me
Black	Death, death of ignorance, awakening/enlightenment	–	n/a	Air		Hum

Image:Vajrayogini from Thangka.jpg|thumb|Vajrayogini, holding a flaying knife, a skull cup and tantric staff.
The five colors are supplemented by several other colors including black and orange and gold. They are commonly used for prayer flags as well as for visualizing deities and spiritual energy, construction of mandalas and the painting of religions icons.

Indo-Tibetan visual art

contains numerous esoteric figures and symbols. There are different types of visual art in Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana. Mandalas are genre of Buddhist art that contains numerous symbols and images in a circle and are an important element of tantric ritual. Thangkas are cloth paintings which are commonly used throughout the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist world.
Tibetan Buddhist deities may often assume different roles and are thus drawn, sculpted and visualized differently according to these roles. For example, Green Tara and White Tara which are different aspects of Tara that have different meanings. Green Tara is associated with protecting people from fear while the White Tara is associated with longevity. Shakyamuni Buddha may be seen in yellow or orange skin and Amitabha Buddha is typically red. These deities may also hold various attributes and implements in their hands, like flowers, jewels, bowls and sutras. Depictions of "wrathful deities" are often very fearsome, with monstrous visages, wearing skulls or bodily parts. They also may carry all sorts of weapons or fierce tools, like tridents, flaying knives and skull cups. The fierceness of these deities symbolizes the fierce energy needed to overcome ignorance.
Vajrayana Buddhism often specifies the number of feet of a Buddha or bodhisattva. While two is common there may also be ten, sixteen, or twenty-four feet. The position of the feet/legs may also have a specific meaning such as in Green Tara who is typically depicted as seated partly cross-legged but with one leg down symbolising "immersion within in the absolute, in meditation" and readiness to step forth and help sentient beings by "engagement without in the world through compassion".