DONALD LOPEZ: What we’re looking at are footprints of the Buddha with those ten square toes at the bottom with the imprint of a wheel on the sole of his feet. Footprints of the Buddha are extremely important in the Buddhist world. Footprints are, from one perspective a sign of, of past presence. That is, someone was here in the past, and we know that because they left their footprints. But they’re also a sign of a present absence. That is, the person who has left the footprints is no longer there.

NARRATOR: How do we explain that omission?

DONALD LOPEZ: The Buddha probably passed away into Nirvana sometime around 400 BCE. And for the first few centuries of the depiction of the Buddha in Indian art, the Buddha himself was absent. We call this aniconism, the lack of icons. We don’t see the Buddha represented as we know him today for many centuries after his death. And so, when he was not depicted, he was often symbolized, and the symbol was typically the seat of enlightenment. Sometimes it was his footprints. Sometimes it was a stupa. Sometimes it was a wheel.

NARRATOR: On the back wall, you’ll see him represented by a flaming pillar. These footprints and other symbols meant to represent the Buddha and his presence are seen all over the world in places the historical Buddha never visited.

DONALD LOPEZ: And so, for a Buddhist to see the footprints of the Buddha, this is something that is revered, to know that he was there as a reminder of his presence. But also, to remember that he’s also now gone, that he’s now passed into Nirvana, and this is all that we have left.