1

The Shift from Aniconic to Anthropomorphic Buddha in

Greco-Buddhist Iconography: How Anthropomorphism Advanced Buddhism

David C. Puzak1
York University

Artistic representation is the byproduct of a complex set of cultural interactions.

The art forms of a particular culture can be construed as the highest form of expression
when pertaining to normative constructs such as values and belief systems. Often times,
the concepts shared between individuals in a normative system escape comprehension by
virtue of the fact they are too abstract. In other words, art is the skillful method that
attempts to capture and embody abstract concepts into a tangible and concrete form by
transforming abstract mental concepts into a meaningful and accessible format.
Artistic processes locate a fine niche within the metaphysical concepts found in
religious systems in that they facilitate in the decoding of abstract idealizations that
would be difficult to comprehend outside of a sensuously appealing medium. Humans
make sense of their world by interacting within it mentally and physically. Thus,
although the human capacity for forming these abstract concepts serves us well in many
cognitive domains, it falls short in that it widens the gap between the mental and the
physical. The further we stray from tangibility the less we are able to engage with a
concept or idea and this is disadvantageous in the functioning of religious systems.
Taking this into account can strengthen the claim that only through artistic expression can
the doctrines that comprise religious systems become more accessible to its followers. A
1

To contact the author, please write to: dave@davepuzak.ca

2
sound example of this can be seen by outlining the shift from aniconic to
anthropomorphic representations in early Buddhist art. This paper will investigate the
doctrinal, geographic and sociocultural dimensions that were responsible for the shift
from aniconic to anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha and expound a
hypothesis that this shift may have helped advance Buddhism as a religion.
A brief detour into the historical bases of Vedism will help elucidate some of the
reasons regarding the aniconic portrayal of the Buddha in early Buddhist practice.
Vedism by its very nature was aniconic because it considered the highest gods as
ultimately transcendent and formless (Krishan 9). Therefore artistic portrayals of the
highest deities were not forbidden by doctrine, rather they were contradictory to the
message they set out to portray. The concept of being a formless, impersonal and unseen
force of nature meant that the highest deities defied representation. One could liken this
to a metaphor of the wind. Although wind exerts effects on objects, it cannot be
perceived as a concrete object in and of itself. The Hindu conceptualization of the
Ultimate Being is portrayed exactly in this way. However, it was not until the Kushan
period (1st to 2nd CE) that this Ultimate Being was anthropomorphically portrayed as
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva (Pratapaditya 27). Each of these deities can be multiply
realized into many forms called avatars. Avatars are descendents of the formless and
intangible Ultimate Being who join the physical realm through instantiating themselves
into one of the various forms depending on the intent of their purposes.
As can be seen, even before the advent of Buddhism, there was a long standing
tradition in India that catered to the idea of the formless defying representation. It is for
this reason that aniconic representation of the Buddha flourished in the early years of

3
Buddhism. When Buddhism was in its infancy, those who were faithful to the growing
tradition were careful to act within to the Vedic tradition to avoid any normative
displacement (Krishan 51).
Although there were no known specific doctrinal prohibitions to representation of
the Buddha in anthropomorphic form, Krishan adds, there seems to have been an indirect
ambiguous statement contained within the Vinaya of the Sarvastivadins alluding to a
prohibition:
world honoured one, if images of yours are not allowed to be made pray,
may we not at least make images of bodhisattvas in attendance upon
you?(9)
Even though this statement addresses the theme of iconic representation of Buddha, it is
an isolated case and due to its ambiguous nature cannot be construed as a direct
prohibition. What can be concluded with more certainty is the aniconic nature of the
Buddha in early Buddhism was a result of Vedic traditions and not specific doctrinal
prohibitions. Krishan adds that perhaps a human representation of the Buddha at this
stage would have compromised the transcendental nature of the Buddha (Krishan 17).
As artistic processes continued to be informed by Vedic traditions, so to was the
nature of the absence of Buddha in Buddhist artwork. It was not until the Greek presence
in South Asia after the conquests of Alexander the Great in 326 BC that the
anthropomorphic representation of Buddha emerged (Krishan 29).
After Alexander the Great had conquered Northern India, the Gandhara region
became a melting pot for both Greek and Buddhist traditions. At this time in history, the
presence of hybrid artwork suggested that religious dynamicism seemed to be well

4
tolerated and perhaps even encouraged. The artists in the Gandhara region fused Greek
realism which had Hellenistic origins with the more naturalistic inspired Indian
mysticism. In essence, the art created in the Gandhara region during the Hellenistic
period derived its content from Indian mysticism while the form was that of Greek
realism. This true hybrid art form was the product of almost two centuries of interactions
between Indo-Greek culture.
These diverse cultural interactions owe much of their credit to the Silk Road
transmission of culture. The Silk Road is a term used to describe a large trade network
that connected Eastern and Western Asia with the Mediterranean regions and Europe. On
this network, items such as spices, precious metals and silk would be traded. Many
merchants lived a completely nomadic lifestyle on the Silk Road going from city to city
gaining and employing superior negotiating and sales skills. However, the Silk Road was
not limited to the trade of physical goods alone it also was a major purveyor of cultural
information (Foltz 44).
Evidence of Indo-Greek interaction in Gandhara can be proven through
numismatic evidence. The Greek settlers in this region brought with them coins that
depicted their diverse polytheistic culture (Foltz 43). This evidence becomes useful when
explaining the sociocultural impact in Indo-Greek syncretism and its significance in the
emergence of iconic representations of Buddha.
A further example of how cultural transmission manifested itself on the Silk Road
is through Greek adoption of Buddhist ideals. Heliodoros, the ambassador of the Seleucid
ruler Antialcidas had erected a pillar in homage to the god Vishnu at Besnagar (Foltz

5
43). This emphasizes the point made earlier in regards to religious dynamicism being
highly tolerated and encouraged during this historical period.
It was only after Greek rule in the Gandhara region had been superseded by the
Kushans that artistic representations of Buddha emerged. Centuries of syncretism
between the Indo-Greeks had created an artistic culture that contained elements of Greek
realism and Indian mysticism. The Kushans readily assimilated to Greek ideals by
adopting the symbol of Nike who represents the goddess of victory (Foltz 45). These
iconographic portrayals of pride in geographical dominance were imprinted upon the
coins during the Kushan dynasty which lasted from 30-375 CE (Krishan 34).
The Silk Road was a great enabler of cultural syncretism between the Indo-Greek
culture in Gandhara. This syncretic relationship was ultimately realized through the
material culture in various art forms including coins, sculpture and painting.
The doctrinal and geographic dimensions have revealed much in regards to the
nature of artistic representation of Buddha. However, it is only through the culminations
of both that the sociocultural dimension can arise to have any effect on the significance
and emergence of the anthropomorphic Buddha. As mentioned earlier, it was not until the
Kushan rule over Gandhara that any anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha
came into existence.
The sociocultural dimensions that gave rise to anthropomorphic Buddha seemed
to have occurred slowly over the span of three centuries. The doctrinal attributes of Vedic
tradition were alien to the early Greek settlers of Gandhara. This combined with the
heavy emphasis on anthropomorphic representation in Greek tradition contributed to a
Buddha that had a corporeal presence. The cultural traditions of Greek realism had

6
heavily influenced the artisans of Gandhara to distance themselves from Vedic tradition
in order to appropriate Greek culture through displaying deities in a human form (Krishan
31).
Another confounding factor in addition to appropriation of Greek realism into
Indian mysticism in the emergence of anthropomorphic Buddha was that of the newly
established branch of Mahayana Buddhism. Before this point it was Hinayana Buddhism
that had been dominant in Gandhara Buddhist practice. It was through the ways of the
Hinayana that the Buddha himself was never overtly represented. It has been
hypothesized and agreed upon by scholars that the Silk Road transmission of culture
played an instrumental role in the shift from Hinayana to Mahayana Buddhism (Foltz 41).
Only in Mahayana Buddhism is the Buddha represented in human form.
Interestingly, the shift to Mahayana Buddhism shares parallels between its more theistic
Greek counterparts. It was at this point in time that the concept of salvation was
introduced through the creation of the bodhisattva. The concept of bodhisattva implies
salvation through delivering oneself and others from a life of suffering through adoption
of this ideal. This was a dramatic shift from Hinayana Buddhism in that the new tradition
of Mahayana treated these bodhisattvas as divinities, thereby catapulting them into a
theistic dimension (Foltz 42). There is strong evidence correlating the emergence of
Mahayana Buddhism in the Gandhara region by the presence of early Mahayana texts
which informed the very first artistic portrayals of bodhisattva ideals (Krishan 52). This
seems to indicate the evolution of Buddhism on the doctrinal level as being the result of
sociocultural syncretic processes.

7
A close inspection of the Gandhara Buddha (figure 1) serves as an exemplar of
the pronounced syncretic relationship between Indo-Greek culture. The influence of
Greek realism is undeniable in the toga-like dress of the statue. Also notably Greek realist
attributes are that of its physical stature. The Buddha in this form appears muscular and
heroic in stature, the facial features are well proportioned with each other and the hair on
top of the head appears even when in traditional texts the Buddha had shaven it off while
renouncing the world and its ways. Upon comparison with the statue of Greek deity
Apollo (figure 2), the two forms share a striking resemblance.

Figure 1
Gandhara Buddha

Figure 2
Apollo Belvedere

There is a clear influence of Greek realism in the Gandhara Buddha by virtue of the fact
it shares these similarities in form. As Krishan points out, while the theme of the art is
Indian, the form and technical styles are Greek (Krishan 30).

A final question of interest pertains to the utility of the anthropomorphic image of

the Buddha. Namely, was the shift from aniconic to anthropomorphic useful in the
evolution and survival of Buddhism as a religion? It was only through cultural
appropriation that Buddhism gained the status of becoming a theistic religion with a
prominent figurehead or leader. In Western religions, the concept and presence of a
messiah or leader figure is paramount in helping achieve collective understanding. The
presence of a concrete figurehead or idol aids in the solidification of understanding vague
or abstract concepts. For example, when we possess a notion about something (a
conceptual construct) we relate this to something tangible in order to make sense of it.
Stewart Guthrie in his book Faces in the Clouds claims that religion is
anthropomorphism (Guthrie 178). A similar claim was made earlier by anthropologist
Levi-Strauss who stated religion consists in a humanization of natural laws (Guthrie
178). If a deity or God is not like a human or any other natural kind, than what is it like?
An important facet of the human cognitive system is driven by analogical reasoning. We
relate to and function in the world through comparing things we do not know with things
we do know. Perhaps this was one of factors playing into Greeks conception (or lack
thereof) of the aniconic nature of the Buddha. The Greeks could not conceive of or relate
to a deity who could only be found in nothingness. As a result, Greek cultural

9
appropriation humanized and gave birth to a Buddha that resembled something in their
own image and likeness. Hence, a presence was given to absence through artistic
processes performed by the Indo-Greeks in Gandhara.
Anthropomorphism provides a solution to the ontological puzzle of what the
unknown is like. We relate to the unfamiliar through analogical reasoning until we can
point to something concrete and say this is what it is like. What is it like as we have
investigated in this paper, is a direct product of and defined by sociocultural dimensions.
To summarize, we can admit that art translates abstract conceptual knowledge
more effectively than linguistic expression alone. Artistic processes excel at being able to
concretize knowledge that is rich in abstract metaphysical content. In this way they can
be defined as a tool an extension of our sensory-motor system that aids us in
understanding the content of our own concepts. If religious systems are just a culmination
of narratives that attempt to explain phenomena to which no rational basis is available
then perhaps we are the anthropomorphic Gods of our own design.
The Mahayana movement that is attributed with being the product of Indo-Greek
syncretism could simply have been a reaction towards modernity. In this context,
modernity would be defined at the change over time that increasing cultural transmissions
along the Silk Road generated. The Silk Road was the enzyme for cultural information
that ultimately came to shape doctrinal, geographic and sociocultural dimensions of the
Indo-Greeks in Gandhara. As it stands today, the anthropomorphic Buddha is now the
primary symbol used to characterize Buddhism and is strongly associated with the
Mahayana movement that helped in its genesis.

10
Works Cited
Foltz, Richard. Religions of the Silk Road. New York: St. Martins Press, 1999. Print.
Guthrie, Stewart Elliott. Faces in the clouds : a new theory of religion.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print.
Krishan, Yuvraj. Religions of the Silk Road. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers: New
Delhi 1996. Print.
Krishan, Yuvraj. Was Gandhara Art a Product of Mahayana Buddhism? Journal of the
Royal Society of Great Britain and Ireland 3.4 (1964): 104-119. JSTOR. Web.
25 February 2012.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. Print.
Unknown. Gandhara Buddha. 1st 2nd CE. Tokyo National Museum. Wikimedia
Commons. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 24 February 2012.
Unknown. Belvedere Apollo. 130-140 BC. Museo Pio-Clementino, Octagon, Apollo Hall.
Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 24 February 2012.