Nirvana Buddha

Japanese: 涅槃仏 - ねはんぶつ

This reclining statue shows Shakyamuni sleeping after he entered Nirvana (Nirvana), with his right side facing down and his legs folded one above the other. There are sculptures and paintings (Nirvana paintings), and huge sculptures of Nirvana are found in the Ajanta Caves and Kushinagar in India, and in the Dunhuang Caves in China. In Japan, the oldest is the clay statue in the Five-Story Pagoda of Horyu-ji Temple, followed by wooden Buddhas and gilt bronze Buddhas from the Kamakura period. Shakyamuni became a monk at the age of 29, and after six years of ascetic practice, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. For the next forty years or so he preached his teachings in various parts of northern India, from the Ganges River basin.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

釈迦が涅槃に入った(入滅)姿をあらわす臥像で，右脇を下にし，両足を上下に重ねて眠る姿であらわされる。彫像と画像(涅槃図)があり，彫像ではインドのアジャンター石窟，クシナガラ，中国では敦煌石窟などに巨大な涅槃像がある。日本では法隆寺五重塔の塑像が最も古く，次いで鎌倉時代の木彫仏や金銅仏がある。釈迦は29歳で出家し6年間の苦行の末に悟りを開いて仏陀となり，以来四十数年間ガンガー(ガンジス)川流域から北インドの各地で教えを説いた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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