Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c42.s2.t2.7

v2.c42.s2.t2.7

Though the image of Buddha is wanting in the earlier sculptures there are ample evidences to show the wide prevalence of symbol worship. The artists probably did not make an image of the omniscient refulgent Buddha with all the signs of great men (mahāpuruṣa), but the feeling of adoration to Buddha was there, and this they expressed by concourse of men and gods and even animals, bowing down reverentially to the stūpas, Bodhi-tree or the Vajrāsana, or offering flowers and garlands. In the post-Christian eras, however, the Buddha images not only came into vogue, but practically the Buddhist centres were flooded with such images, some of the most exquisite Gandharan art while others of indigenous local developments. Merit accrued to both the artist and the donor of an image, and so it was quite natural there should be such an exuberance of Buddha-images in the post-Christian eras. Both the Hīnayānists and the Mahāyānists started making images and temples and decorated the stūpas with countless images.