Emaciated Buddha, from Gandhara. Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi, India This powerful type refers to the Buddha's period of extreme asceticism. The molding of skin to his eye sockets and cheekbones illustrates the state of near-starvation to which he had reduced himself in his quest for spiritual illumination. He achieved full enlightenment only after renouncing such extremism in favor of a more moderate path.