Tag Archives: Shthvara
Meaning of the Buddha’s Earth Touching Pose
Known by many names, the ‘earth touching’ pose of the Buddha is the Bhumisparsha mudra, translates from Sanskrit to mean ‘touching the earth.’ A mudra is a motion or gesture of the hands and body to express a feeling or thought. Buddhist meditation rituals are based on the many different mudras. The earth touching pose is most often seen in statues of Buddha and is also referred to as the ‘earth witness’ mudra. To perform this mudra, the hand is placed on the ground with all fingers touching. The palm faces inward. It is a symbol of the moment when Buddha summoned the Earth goddess to witness the moment in which he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Occassionally, you may see this mudra referred to as ‘Summoning the Earth Goddess to Witness.’ In the earth touching pose, the right arm rests on the right knee with the fingers extended
