Why Chat Stickers and Emojis Shouldn’t Bear Images of the Buddha

Statues, paintings and other symbols of the Buddha are made to represent the Buddha Himself so that Buddhists can pay homage to them. They also remind Buddhists of the great compassion of the Buddha and His teaching to end the cycle of rebirth.

If an individual wants to draw a picture of the Buddha, he/she must have the greatest respect towards Him because every image of the Buddha is sacred. However, today some people create pictures of the Buddha that lack respect and are inappropriate, e.g., they caricature the Buddha or Buddhist monks on stickers and emojis with inappropriate poses and words for use in chat applications. This is unacceptable and inappropriate for the following reasons:

1. It degrades the Buddha and Buddhist monks. Although the Buddha and Buddhist monks are calm and composed, these pictures contain inappropriate poses and words and don’t represent individuals who practice the Dhamma. Therefore, it is inappropriate to create and use them.

2. It taints Buddhism. The Buddha is the prophet and the monks are His disciples who spread His teaching. Creating these stickers and emojis trivializes and devalues Buddhism overall.

3. It confuses society and people who want to be good Buddhists. Images of the Buddha and monks are meant for paying respect. However, when people see such stickers and emojis used in mundane chat applications, they may be confused and even distressed. Thus, it is entirely inappropriate.

4. It can cause other people to mimic this behavior. When people see these kinds of stickers and emojis, some might conclude that it is normal or acceptable to create such images, but in fact it is not. In addition, it can lead some people to go to further extremes and create images that are even more inappropriate, making the situation worse than it is now.

5. It erodes individuals’ beliefs and causes Buddhism to decline. These kinds of stickers and emojis might lead some people to think that the story of the Buddha is just a fairy tale and that he never truly existed or that the religion is not serious, thereby destroying people’s belief in Buddhism. In such an environment, how can Buddhism be passed on to the next generation?

Please respect the Buddha and Buddhism and please help us spread the word.�