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Ròujì 肉髻 in Chinese (Skt. = Uṣṇīṣa), it is the oval swelling of flesh or the top-knot of hair on a Buddha's head, the bump of wisdom. It symbolizes the perfection of spiritual omniscient wisdom (Skt. = sarvajñatā) and the knowledge of cultivation paths (Skt. = mārgajñatā) of an Enlightened being. The Uṣṇīṣa is often covered by spiral shaped curls of hair, like snail-shells, known as luófă 螺髪. The luófă symbolizes enlightenment through the perfection of meditation. Another Chinese term for Ròujì is Ròujìxiàng 肉髻相 (Skt. = Uṣṇīṣa-śiraskatā), one of the 32 marks (Skt. = lakșaṇa) of a Buddha.
- Jìzhū 髻珠. The jewel of Ròujì that is found within the hair on top of Buddha’s head is located at the front base of the Ròujì. It symbolizes the unsurpassed Enlightenment of the Buddha and radiates the light of wisdom. In Buddhist statuary, a small circle is typically carved here, or a circular crystal placed here. The Jìzhū is sometimes painted red. In the World of Lotus Treasury (Lián huá zàng shì jiè 蓮華藏世界), a pure land described in the Flower Garland Sutra 華嚴經 and Brahma Net Sutra 梵網經, an infinite number of huàfó 化佛 (lit. transformed Buddha) emanate from the Jìzhū. The emanated Buddhas represent the infinite transformations (manifestations, forms, different bodies) in which the Buddha may appear to liberate sentient beings.
Luófă 螺髪 in Chinese means the hair with small right turning spiral curls. They represent Buddha’s perfection of meditation. In the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom 大智度論, Nagarjuna, a great Indian Mahayana Master, described in Buddha’s previous lives, he has cultivated diligently in the practice of meditation. Once in his past life, he practiced as a yogi in meditation. He entered a deep and tranquil Samadhi or meditative state of mind. When he rises again from this meditation, a bird has built a nest on top of his head and laid some eggs in it. He noticed this and knew if he stands up at that moment, the mother bird will never comes back and the eggs will not hatch and die. Therefore, with the mind of compassion, he continued to practice meditation until the eggs hatched; the young chicks have grown up and flew away. Due to the merits his compassion and cultivation in meditation in the past, his hairs all have right curls. This is a specific characteristic of the Buddha.
Báiháo 白毫 in Chinese (Skt. = Ūrṇa). Lit. white hair, the curl between Buddha's eyebrows is a spiral or circular hair. It is an auspicious mark that symbolizes the divine third eye (spiritual eye) with the ability to have insights to the mundane world of suffering. In the Mahayana Sutras, Buddha sends out rays of light that reveals all worlds. This mark appears on all statues of the Buddha. The Ūrṇa is usually represented with a crystal or other valuable gems. Before the Buddha give a important teaching, it is common the Buddha will allow light shines from his Ūrṇa towards the whole universe which illuminate the different realms of existence. The Urna is a traditional marking still worn by Indian women today (gem set in middle of forehead); some traditions call it the sixth chakra (center of energy, wheel of light).
Gànpú chéngjiù 紺蒲成就 in Chinese (Skt. = kamboja). kamboja is described as a round, reddish Indian fruit with 3 distinctive lines, the Buddha having something resembling it on his neck. This is one of his 32 characteristic marks also. It represents a highly cultivated spiritual being who possesses the inner beauty of compassion.
Jiāshā 袈裟 (Skt. = kaṣāya). This word means decayed, impure (in color), dyed, not of primary color, so as to distinguish monk's robe from the normal bright or white dress of the common secular people. Monastic robes are stitched together from rag patches, in manner prescribed in the Vinaya laws of the Sangha. They are usually dyed in a range of colors from red, maroon, brown to yellow. The robe represents monastic vows of renunciation. Therefore, lay Buddhist householders are not allowed to wear this robe before observing the monastic oath.
Shŏuyìn 手印 (Skt. = Mudra). The gestures performed by the hands of a Buddha image have specific meanings that refer to some event in the life of the Buddha or denote a special characteristic. There are five basic hand positions, each corresponding to five defining episodes in the life of the Historical Buddha.
- Aureola. Stylized representation of the magnificent light radiating from the Buddha. The word for halo in Chinese is guāngbèi 光背. On a Buddhist statue or picture, there are 2 types of aureola that may be depicted. One just over and surrounds the head, the other surrounds the whole body. They are commonly depicted as a circle or flame of light. They represent Buddha’s wisdom to burn off all defilements and bring light to sentient beings who are living in the darkness of suffering with compassion.
- Leg Posture. Here we see the cross-legged meditation pose called the Lotus Position, one of three basic poses. The three basic sitting postures are full-lotus, half-lotus and cross-legged. Like the lotus, which grows out of the mud at the bottom of a pond, the Buddha is an enlightened being who "grew" out of the "mud" of the samsara. Although Buddha’s mind and body are is pure and liberated from samsara, He remains in the world compassionately guiding all sentient beings out of suffer. Like the lotus does not need leave the turbid water in order to gain purity. In Chinese meditation sitting is called zuòchán 坐禪 (Jap: zazen). During this sitting meditation, practitioners usually assume a position such as the lotus position and discipline the mind with awareness or mindfulness directed towards counting or watching the breath.
