The statue featuring the Buddha with a nude girl on his thigh has caused heated debate on social networks in Vietnam. The question about this character now has the answer.
 
That "girl" is Shakti – the Sanskrit name of a supernatural force representing the early universal energy, the source of creativity, fertility and feminine nature.
 
Shakti is derived from Hinduism, sometimes known as "the great Mother of God" in the Hindu worldview.
 
Shakti was introduced to the Tantric Buddhism after the sect was born.
 
Nepal and Tibet, the lands located in the Himalayas, are the places where Tantrism is the most popular. Here, the image of Shakti holding Buddha is called Pleasure Buddha.
 
In Hinduism there is also a similar character like the Pleasure Buddha – Shiva, who symbolizes destruction - associated with Shakti, creativity (as pictured).
 
When it was introduced into Buddhism, Shakti no longer has the original meaning of creation and reproduction. Shakti becomes a symbol of wisdom.
 
The "cuddle" between the Buddha and Shakti is the perfect combination of the body and the mind, in which the body seeking liberation through wisdom.
 
The "joy" in the Pleasure Buddha is the joy of a man who has opened his mind, not the sexual pleasure between men and women.
 
If the highest achievement in the relationships between men and women is "organism," the achievement of the relationship between the Buddha and Shakti is the Nirvana.
 
In addition to the above explanation, there are many different conceptions of the meaning of the image of the Pleasure Buddha.
 
According to another viewpoint, the naked woman with erotic movement symbolizes the worldly charm.
 
Meanwhile the serenity of the Buddha is a testament to the mind that is free from the dust of life.
 
This liberation is the greatest joy that a man can achieve in his life.
 
Another theory considers the nude woman as a representative for heretics. The attitude of this woman is a sign of surrender to the Buddhist catechism.
 

Back to the statue that stirred up Vietnamese netizens…although the origin of the photo is unidentified, it is sure that such statues can be found easily in Tibet, Nepal and some other regions in South Asia, where have Tantric Buddhism.

Vietnamnet