are made of different materials

The statue below is made of gilded wood and was carved in Burma over 200 years ago. It might look as if the picture has fallen over but it hasn't.

There are four postures for Buddha statues. Sitting is the most common - can you find examples of the other postures in the book?

When you see a Buddha in the lying posture it refers to the death of Gotama. He was 80 years old and had known for some time that he was going to die. He had told the monks and lay people this so there were a lot of people there when he died. He lay down on his right side on a couch, prepared for him between two trees. Some of the monks were crying and the Buddha told them, just before he died, that:
'Nothing lasts forever, eventually everything will die and everybody must work hard now to get enlightened because they could die anytime.'

When he died the trees burst into bloom even though it was not the season and there were bright lights seen in the sky even though it was daytime.