<p>These marks are historically conditioned, related to the ideal of beauty at that time, or at least of the people writing those lists; seemingly rational arguments for long ears are a part of the idealization game, be they accurate or not. D. Ingram in <em>Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha</em> (pg. 302):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The old Theravada texts go to great lengths to list the 32 interesting
  physical qualities of the Buddha, such as having 40 teeth and arms so
  long that he could touch his knees without bending down. It is
  interesting how things change, as in our modern context that would
  make him look more to us like a dentally challenged Cro-Magnon than a
  spiritual superhero, but I digress.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-20T12:11:59.723Z
2015-11-20T12:11:59.723Z
eudoxos
<p>UPDATE:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The earlobes are elongated, partly to indicate the Buddha is
  all-hearing and partly as a reminder of the heavy earrings that
  weighed them down before Siddhartha renounced material things to seek
  enlightenment.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>ref: <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2714/why-do-statues-of-buddha-have-long-earlobes" rel="nofollow">http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2714/why-do-statues-of-buddha-have-long-earlobes</a></p>

<p>Ah ha, the Ears reference comes from the 80 minor marks:
ref: <a href="http://news.fjnet.com/english/abcOfBudd/200606/t20060626_30901.htm" rel="nofollow">http://news.fjnet.com/english/abcOfBudd/200606/t20060626_30901.htm</a>
(credit to  yuttadhammo for solving the mystery)</p>

<p>The idea that the Buddha or a Buddha has 32 marks or physical qualities popped up in Buddhism and iconographers followed this list, but long ears isn't on that list.</p>

<p>ref:
<a href="http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level2_lamrim/initial_scope/safe_direction/thirty_excellent_signs_major_marks_.htmlo" rel="nofollow">http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level2_lamrim/initial_scope/safe_direction/thirty_excellent_signs_major_marks_.htmlo</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T13:53:05.707Z
So, we are not sure whether Buddha actually had long ears or not, right?
Mawia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T13:55:12.813Z
There are no written documents, painting or or the like dating from the time of the Buddha. Iconographers didn't start trying to create statues and pictures of the Buddha for 100s of years after his death.  We can safely assume he had a family resemblance to ethnic Maghadans (the district of India where he was from).
MatthewMartin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T14:02:35.847Z
It is on the list of eighty minor characteristics though...
yuttadhammo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T12:37:03.977Z
2014-07-04T14:17:05.357Z
2014-07-04T14:17:05.357Z
MatthewMartin
<blockquote>
  <ol start="49">
  <li>His ears are long like lotus petals.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

<p>The Buddha have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha#The_32_Signs_of_a_Great_Man" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The 32 Signs of a Great Man</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha#The_80_secondary_characteristics" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The 80 secondary characteristics</a>. This is one of the 80 minor Characteristics as the the comment by Ven. @yuttadhammo. For further details see: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Physical characteristics of the Buddha</a> and <a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/36.9-Lakkhana-S-d30-piya.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lakkhana Sutta</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-18T13:26:55.527Z
2015-11-18T13:26:55.527Z
2018-08-14T22:06:13.773Z
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
<p>Every statue of the Buddha I have seen depicts him as having long ears. </p>

<p>Did Buddha really have long ears? If so, why and how did he get long ears?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T12:11:18.440Z
@kingkero I can't go through long articles. I'm looking for short and precise answer.
Mawia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T13:43:14.213Z
Fixed my answer, it isn't the 32 marks.
MatthewMartin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-04T16:53:07.140Z
At first sight, this would appear to be the kind of question that would put me off coming to buddhism.SE at all. HOWEVER, on seeing @MatthewMartin's answer, and recalling a tour of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco where a lot of points of iconography were explained, I realized that it could be made into a pretty good one by changing it to "Why do statues of the Buddha often have long ears?"
tkp
<the-buddha><iconography>
Did the Buddha have long ears?
# Did the Buddha have long ears?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-07-04)

Every statue of the Buddha I have seen depicts him as having long ears.

Did Buddha really have long ears? If so, why and how did he get long ears?

**Tags:** the-buddha, iconography

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @kingkero I can't go through long articles. I'm looking for short and precise answer.  
> **username_1**: Fixed my answer, it isn't the 32 marks.  
> **username_2**: At first sight, this would appear to be the kind of question that would put me off coming to buddhism.SE at all. HOWEVER, on seeing @username_1's answer, and recalling a tour of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco where a lot of points of iconography were explained, I realized that it could be made into a pretty good one by changing it to "Why do statues of the Buddha often have long ears?"  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-07-04. Score: 3

UPDATE:

> The earlobes are elongated, partly to indicate the Buddha is
> all-hearing and partly as a reminder of the heavy earrings that
> weighed them down before Siddhartha renounced material things to seek
> enlightenment.

ref: <http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2714/why-do-statues-of-buddha-have-long-earlobes>

Ah ha, the Ears reference comes from the 80 minor marks:
ref: <http://news.fjnet.com/english/abcOfBudd/200606/t20060626_30901.htm>
(credit to username_4 for solving the mystery)

The idea that the Buddha or a Buddha has 32 marks or physical qualities popped up in Buddhism and iconographers followed this list, but long ears isn't on that list.

ref:
<http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level2_lamrim/initial_scope/safe_direction/thirty_excellent_signs_major_marks_.htmlo>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So, we are not sure whether Buddha actually had long ears or not, right?  
> **username_1**: There are no written documents, painting or or the like dating from the time of the Buddha. Iconographers didn't start trying to create statues and pictures of the Buddha for 100s of years after his death.  We can safely assume he had a family resemblance to ethnic Maghadans (the district of India where he was from).  
> **username_4**: It is on the list of eighty minor characteristics though...  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-11-18. Score: 3

> 49. His ears are long like lotus petals.

The Buddha have [The 32 Signs of a Great Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha#The_32_Signs_of_a_Great_Man) and [The 80 secondary characteristics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha#The_80_secondary_characteristics). This is one of the 80 minor Characteristics as the the comment by Ven. @username_4. For further details see: [Physical characteristics of the Buddha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha) and [Lakkhana Sutta](http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/36.9-Lakkhana-S-d30-piya.pdf)


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-11-20. Score: 1

These marks are historically conditioned, related to the ideal of beauty at that time, or at least of the people writing those lists; seemingly rational arguments for long ears are a part of the idealization game, be they accurate or not. D. Ingram in *Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha* (pg. 302):

> The old Theravada texts go to great lengths to list the 32 interesting
> physical qualities of the Buddha, such as having 40 teeth and arms so
> long that he could touch his knees without bending down. It is
> interesting how things change, as in our modern context that would
> make him look more to us like a dentally challenged Cro-Magnon than a
> spiritual superhero, but I digress.


---

