Many people don’t know how Shakyamuni Buddha looked, so I asked whether Shakyamuni Buddha looked like Amitabha. GOD Michael commented that Shakyamuni Buddha looked like a typical Indian person and didn’t look like Amitabha.
I did some research online and found that Shakyamuni Buddha was born around 500 – 600 BCE in Nepal or north east India and his family members were all Indians.
Shakyamuni Buddha didn’t have an image until around the 100 BCE about the time Mahayana Buddhism first appeared. I asked and GOD Michael confirmed that people got visions about Amitabha and were later sometimes mixed or mistaken as Shakyamuni’s.
Below picture is from Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway, which is built around 3rd century BCE. In the middle of the panel, those who sitting on elephants or horses were Siddhartha Gautama’s family members. The child in the middle of the panel may either be Siddhartha Gautama himself or his brother. This picture clearly shows Siddhartha Gautama’s family is a typical Indian family.
Some early Buddha statues showed Shakyamuni Buddha’s image:
May 15, 2025