You will sometimes come across the idea of the “32 Marks of the Buddha.” These are mentioned in the Lakkhana Sutta and are very cultural in origin. Gautama, the historical Buddha, liked to give new meaning to teachings that were already around in the Indian tradition, rather than preaching against them. The Lakkhana Sutta is a good example of this. The idea of the marks already existed as the list of the “32 Marks of a Superior Being.” What the Buddha added was the teaching that each of these marks is the result of ethical action in the past. For instance, the wheel-mark on the foot comes from having “lived for the happiness of many, a dispeller of fright and terror, provider of lawful protection and shelter, and supplying all necessities.”

The Marks of a Superior Being are:

He places his foot evenly on the floor

The soles of his feet are imprinted with wheels

He has projecting heels

He has long fingers and toes

He has soft and tender hands and feet

He has webbed hands and feet

He has arched feet

He has legs like an antelope

When he stands upright his hands reach down to his knees

His male organ is covered with a sheath

His complexion has a golden sheen

His skin is so smooth that no dust clings to it

Each hair on his skin grows from a single pore

The hair on his skin is blue-black, curly and turns at the end to the right

His limbs are straight like those of a god

There are seven convex surfaces on his body – four behind his limbs, two behind his shoulders and one behind his trunk

His torso is like that of a lion

The furrow between his shoulders is absent

His body is perfectly proportioned – the span of his arms is the same as his height

His neck and shoulders are evenly proportioned

His taste is exceptionally sensitive

His jaws are like those of a lion’s

He has forty teeth

His teeth are even

There are no gaps in his teeth

His teeth are white and shining

He has a long tongue

He has a divine voice

He has deep blue eyes

He has eyelashes like those of an ox

He has soft white hair growing between his eyebrows

His head is shaped like a turban the two, are excellently smooth

The protuberance at the crown of the Buddha called Usnisha, is a symbol of Supreme Enlightenment and wisdom. It is a cranial protrusion, covered with short curls which turn clockwise.This is known to be one of the 32 auspicious physical marks of the Buddha.

An Urna is a concave circular dot- an auspicious mark manifested by a whorl of white hair on the forehead between the eyebrows. It is often found on the 2nd and 3rd Century sculptures of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Sometimes it is represented with a jewel.

Urna is the 31st physical characteristic of Buddha. It symbolizes and radiates wisdom.which illuminates the world.

The distended earlobes, symbolic of longevity, which recall the heavy earrings the Buddha wore when he was still a prince.