Elements of Buddhist Iconography c4.85

c4.85

In early Buddhist art the Dharmacakra is represented as supported by a pillar with a bulbous capital, upon which are four lions, on which in turn the Dharmacakra directly rests.75 The capital and lions I take to be the lotus and lion thrones which are so often combined in the later anthropomorphic iconography. I have discussed elsewhere 76 the morphology of the lotus capital, and now take it for granted that the pillar itself corresponds to the stem, cable moulding to stamens, and abacus to pericarp. The capital, then, represents the heavenly ground on which the Word is manifested, while the actual earth in which the pillar stands is that terrestrial ground on which the Word is actually preached; the pillar extends from Earth to Heaven, it is the Axis of the Universe; the whole represents the Universe.