纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 041无量寿佛坐像(7)（在线收听）

In the sculpture Buddha's fingers stand in for the spokes of the wheel, and he's setting in motion the Wheel of Law to his followers, who will eventually be able to renounce the material states of illusion, suffering and individuality for the immaterial state of the highest happiness: nirvana. Here's an old Buddhist teaching:

佛陀的手指代表法轮，他为听众转动法轮，让他们能放下虚幻的现实，脱离苦难与自我，进人极乐的涅槃状态。佛陀教导：

"It is only the fool who is deceived by the outward show of beauty; for where is the beauty when the decorations of the person are taken away, the jewels removed, the gaudy dress laid aside, the flowers and chaplets withered and dead? The wise man, seeing the vanity of all such fictitious charms, regards them as a dream, a mirage, a fantasy."

外饰粉脂。璎珞衣服。华髮钗钏。假庄严身。痴人不知。横被诳惑。于色境界。妄生欲心。若有智人。正念观察妇人身体体性如是空无有主。犹如梦幻。

All Buddhist art aims to detach the faithful from the physical world, even if it uses a physical image like our statue to do so.

佛教的所有艺术都教导人们不要眷恋虚幻的物质世界，即使它所依赖的是佛像这种物质实体。