<p>The Marks of a Great Man
Lakkhaṇasutta</p>

<p>===========</p>

<p>The Buddha said this:
Bhagavā etadavoca:</p>

<p>“There are thirty-two marks of a great man. A great man who possesses these has only two possible destinies, no other.
“Dvattiṃsimāni, bhikkhave, mahāpurisassa mahāpurisalakkhaṇāni, yehi samannāgatassa mahāpurisassa dveva gatiyo bhavanti anaññā.</p>

<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn30/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/dn30/en/sujato</a></p>

<p>Further discussion.</p>

<p><a href="https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&amp;t=28550&amp;hilit=Buddha+look+like" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&amp;t=28550&amp;hilit=Buddha+look+like</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-02T04:02:07.190Z
2020-05-02T04:02:07.190Z
SarathW
<p>Sometimes the Buddha was invisible.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn49/en/sujato#mn49:26.10" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN49:26.10</a>: And while invisible I recited this verse:  ‘Seeing the danger in continued existence—that life in any existence will cease to be—I didn’t welcome any kind of existence, and didn’t grasp at relishing.’</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-02T20:54:58.053Z
2020-05-02T20:54:58.053Z
OyaMist
<p>My ignorance of Buddhism will show here, so please forgive me, but I've seen many depictions of the Buddha with hair, seemingly after his Bodhisattva form. I've also read that these might actually be snails which represent Buddhist philosophy rather than actual hair.</p>

<p>I've seen other posts on here, but none referencing the actual text. What do the texts actually say about the appearance of the Buddha? </p>

<buddha>
What are the texts which say or imply what the Buddha looked like?
# What are the texts which say or imply what the Buddha looked like?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-01)

My ignorance of Buddhism will show here, so please forgive me, but I've seen many depictions of the Buddha with hair, seemingly after his Bodhisattva form. I've also read that these might actually be snails which represent Buddhist philosophy rather than actual hair.

I've seen other posts on here, but none referencing the actual text. What do the texts actually say about the appearance of the Buddha?

**Tags:** buddha


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-05-02. Score: 1

The Marks of a Great Man
Lakkhaṇasutta

===========

The Buddha said this:
Bhagavā etadavoca:

“There are thirty-two marks of a great man. A great man who possesses these has only two possible destinies, no other.
“Dvattiṃsimāni, bhikkhave, mahāpurisassa mahāpurisalakkhaṇāni, yehi samannāgatassa mahāpurisassa dveva gatiyo bhavanti anaññā.

<https://suttacentral.net/dn30/en/sujato>

Further discussion.

<https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28550&hilit=Buddha+look+like>


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### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-02. Score: 0

Sometimes the Buddha was invisible.

> [MN49:26.10](https://suttacentral.net/mn49/en/sujato#mn49:26.10): And while invisible I recited this verse: ‘Seeing the danger in continued existence—that life in any existence will cease to be—I didn’t welcome any kind of existence, and didn’t grasp at relishing.’


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