(a) Sakyamuni (Sokamoni-bul, in Korean)

The Buddha Sakyamuni is the main statue in most temples. He is the historical Buddha, the Sambhogakaya. He was born as a prince called Siddhartha Gautama in northeastern India in the fifth century BCE.

Frequently, pictures of various episodes from his life will be found on the exterior of the Main Hall. Sometimes these pictures are housed sepa-rately, sometimes they are found in the back of the Main Hall (Haein-sa). One may follow Siddhartha through the process which brought him to enlightenment. Often pictured are: his mother, Queen Maya, having the auspicious dream of a white elephant; his birth in the Lumbini Garden; his childhood bath in the fire of nine dragons; his meditation in the Himalayas; his struggle with desires; his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree; scenes of him teaching, and his death. (See p. 151.)

The mudra, hand position, of "calling the earth to witness" which is most often associated with the Buddha Sakyamuni, recalls a story about the Bud-dha (it is found in the Sokkur-am statue in Kyongju). Just after his enlightenment, he was chal-lenged as to his right to sit on the small piece of ground that he was occupying. He called the earth to witness his many good deeds of past lives and so justified his seat in that place. The figure is of a seated Buddha, the right hand hanging over the knee, palm inward, sometimes pointing with one finger, usually with the whole hand, towards the earth.