Decorating with Buddha Statues

April 30, 2010

Just about every designer understands when a customer wants a room that is calm as well as peaceful, there is only one route to choose the decor, and that’s East. Think fountains, bonzai, elegant flowers, beautiful screens and unique statues. You can add a touch of the orient in numerous ways, however one of the simplest would be to add a statue of the Buddha. There are more than one hundred known positions and 3 different orientations for these statues, so there is bound to be one which will be appropriate for any room or space, even when it’s an awkward shape or size.

Side tables along with desks all seem to cry out for a seated Buddha, gardens and balconies might be just right for a standing Buddha, yet many areas require an item a lot wider than tall. Here the optimal thing is a reclining Buddha.

All Buddha statues have 32 features believed to have been physical features of the first Gautama Buddha who was born in approximately 563 BC. These are also referred to as the ‘Thirty Two Signs of a Great Man’, and consist of:

•    flat feet

•    a pointed head

•    beautiful gold skin

•    long fingers the same length

•    long toes all the same length

•    a robe draped over one shoulder

•    long ear lobes

The Buddha was not in favor of representations of his own body, and therefore the real question is, why are there so many Buddha statues?

It appears this might be yet another matter which may be blamed on  the Greeks, and on one Greek in particular, Alexander the Great. When Alexander  conquered India and Afghanistan, he left many military and artisans behind, hence the artwork associated with that region was to a great extent inspired by classical sculpture, as well as through Greek ideas of Gods and mortals. Alexander was well known for enjoying the imitation of his own visage, having understood the worth of paintings and statues as items of propaganda.

This may be why Alexandrian India, with a partially Greek population and ties to Greek tradition, was the first area to produce Buddha statues. These became hugely popular and the idea propogagted with Buddhism itself, however as Islam restricted the manifestation of the human form and viewed such sculpture as idolatry,  many of the ancient and wonderful statues of the Buddha in that region have been destroyed.

There are a few well defined poses for these sculptures which pertain to distinct concepts or occasions in the life of the Buddha.

But the most intriguing is the reclining pose of the Buddha. Presently there are 2 variations. One portrays the Buddha, resting with his head in his hand. This is the sleeping Buddha, however the alternative pose, where Buddha’s feet are resting together, signifies the day the Buddha entered Nirvana.

At age eighty, the Buddha took a moment to rest and told his disciples he would soon enter parinirvana, the condition that occurs when the physical body of an individual that has accomplished complete awakening or enlightenment ultimately passes away. He ate his final meal and after that grew to become violently sick. He asked his followers for any questions they had and when there were none he gave them his final directions. “All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence.” Tradition says that when his body was laid among the sala trees, the plants bloomed, though this was not the season.

This is the moment commemorated by the reclining Buddha statue.  In Thailand the most common pose shows the Buddha with legs crossed and with his left hand in his lap while the right points to the ground, palm inward in a pose called ‘Calling the Earth to Witness’ and refers to the specific of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Whatever shape your area, there is a Buddha statue which will match, delivering a feeling of peace and harmony to your home.

Alcholism Secrets

The definition of alcohol addiction today is usually a disorder and addiction in which the usage of alcohol is ongoing in spite of damaging medical or interpersonal effects. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, also known as DSMV, defines alcoholism as continuing addictive consumption of alcohol despite persistent adverse affects. How the public feels about alcohol addiction differs. The professional medical community treats it both a disease and an addiction.

Around 75 percent to 90 percent of the people in the USA are reported to drink alcoholic beverages and yet only a certain number of those are troubled by alcohol addiction. There are a number of factors that often come into consideration like anxiety, mental well being, genetics, age, and ethnicity. In other words, there are many elements but they are not absolute predictors, only risk factors for the disease of alcoholism.

Statistics indicate certain trends in the inclination to go on to develop addiction to alcohol associated with age that alcohol consumption begins. Studies show that 40% of people who started consuming alcohol prior to 14 developed alcohol dependency whereas people who start after age 21 exhibited only a 10% rate of alcoholism. Researchers think specific alterations in the brain of a teenager that were precipitated by alcohol might leave the individual at risk of the condition later.

Genetic makeup might influence one’s inclination towards alcohol addiction, because those with a family history for addiction to alcohol seem at greater risk.

The adverse impacts of dependency on alcohol are progressive and it might be challenging for the affected individual or others to recognize them. A few of the symptoms are:

• Preoccupation with drinking alcohol
• Secretive drinking – hiding drinking alcohol so others will not comment or find out
• Too much time spent in recuperating from effects of alcohol consumption or with drinking linked activities
• Long term unsuccessful attempts to quit or cut down
• Loss of control – consuming alcohol a lot more than intended
• Tolerance of alcoholic beverages where increasing quantities are needed in order to feel it
• Persistent use in spite of unfavorable social, monetary or wellness effects.
• Withdrawal symptoms, which unlike withdrawal problems with some other drugs may be deadly themselves.

Treatment Plans for Alcoholism

About five percent of the alcoholics that try to stop drinking without help are successful. Alcoholics that enter an alcohol treatmentm program statistically have got a greater success rate. Nearly all programs focus on total abstinence and customization associated with coping behavior and interpersonal contacts as well as support. Certain drugs might be used to support the alcoholic therapy and lifestyle change.

A few approaches might concentrate on alcohol reduction like Moderation Management and Drink Wise. Research done in 2004 suggests that total abstinence provides the best success in controlling alcohol dependency long term.

However, females that suffer from dependency on alcohol are fewer in number the health and social implications seem to be much more marked. The way society as well as the alcoholics look at their condition may inhibit or encourage seeking treatment.

Females are more likely to believe that suffering from alcoholism is an indication they’re morally corrupt or others will view them as being “bad”.

Men on the other hand view overcoming the condition as a sign of strength and a diagnosis of dependency on alcohol is not really viewed as an indicator of weakness overall.

These are wide-ranging generalizations and so they might not be valid in each case yet may hinder or assist in therapy respectively.

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