GESTURAL SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS IN MAHĀYĀNA AND CATHOLIC ART

ETHICAL AND AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS

Abstract

This essay explores the symbolism of hand gestures in Buddhist and Christian iconography, using some of Peirce's semiotic categories to discuss the possible meanings of these signs and the relationships of meaning, from an ethical perspective, that these signs establish with their interpreters; in other words, what could these signs inform us about the ethical attitudes proposed by their respective religions. To carry out this investigation, we present a brief overview of the role of hand gestures in the contexts of Mahāyāna Buddhism and Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, and analyze in more detail the gesture of fearlessness in Buddhism and the gesture of prayer in Christianity, understanding that the former points to an approach to ethics as a path that leads to overcoming fear for the benefit of all beings, while the latter points to a relationship of supplication, praise, and obedience to a superior being and Creator, God.