Buddhism is the only world religion that does without gods. In Buddhism, Buddhas are revered as role models and teachers, i.e. people who have accomplished “perfect knowledge“ through meditation and asceticism.

• Nudity as asceticism

Since the first Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (around 500 BC), Buddhism knows nudity as part of ascetic life, which led the Buddha to his wisdom. Similar to the founder of the Hindu-Jain religion, Mahavira, Siddhartha Gautama, he walked in search of wisdom and perfection through the valley of the Ganges for six years in nude asceticism, where he met famous religious teachers, whose systems, and methods he followed. However, since all this did not bring him closer to his goals, he gave up the traditional religions and their methods, sought his own way (the “middle way“, which he later taught) and practiced especially in meditation.

Since then, many people followed his example and his teachings, and some of them were able to achieve the goal of “perfect awakening“ themselves and thus become a Buddha themselves. Some of these Buddhas are firmly associated with nudity, such as the Adi-Buddha, “the All-Good“ or also “the All-Around Blessed“ or “the Lord of Truth“. He appears nude, without attributes, and symbolises the primordial enlightenment of the mind itself, as well as the practice and meditation of all Buddhas.