some earlier examples have been found in recent years, it is common ground that the large free-standing iconic images of the Buddha so prominent in later Buddhist art are not found in the earliest period; discussion is focused on smaller figures in relief panels, conventionally considered to represent scenes from the life of the Buddha, and now re-interpreted by Huntington and her supporters. Aniconism and anthropomorphism Depending on the schools of art or the period, the Buddha can only appear through his symbols, or in anthropomorphological form, in similar works of art. Later periods In later periods both the major schools of Buddhism have made great use of representational art, though Theravada temples and other sites typically concentrate on a single large sculpture of the Buddha, whereas Mahayana temples have larger numbers of images of a greater variety of figures with varying degrees of spiritual significance. However some schools, such as Zen Buddhism in Japan, have also shown a general tendency towards aniconism, though without specific prohibition of figurative images. See also Gautama Buddha Dhamma Sangha Three Refuges Five Precepts Pāli Canon Cetiya Iconoclasm Notes References S. L. Huntington, Early Buddhist art and the theory of aniconism, Art Journal, 49:4 (1990): 401-8. ] Krishan, Yuvraj, The Buddha image: its origin and development, 1996, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , . - a clear and well-illustrated account of the traditional view Rob Linrothe, Inquiries into the Origin of the Buddha Image: A Review. In: East and West, 43 (1993): 241-256. Buddhism Buddhist art Art history Buddhist iconography