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My ignorance of Buddhism will show here, so please forgive me, but I've seen many depictions of the Buddha with hair, seemingly after his Bodhisattva form. I've also read that these might actually be snails which represent Buddhist philosophy rather than actual hair.
I've seen other posts on here, but none referencing the actual text. What do the texts actually say about the appearance of the Buddha?
The Marks of a Great Man Lakkhaṇasutta
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The Buddha said this: Bhagavā etadavoca:
“There are thirty-two marks of a great man. A great man who possesses these has only two possible destinies, no other. “Dvattiṃsimāni, bhikkhave, mahāpurisassa mahāpurisalakkhaṇāni, yehi samannāgatassa mahāpurisassa dveva gatiyo bhavanti anaññā.
https://suttacentral.net/dn30/en/sujato
Further discussion.
https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28550&hilit=Buddha+look+like
Sometimes the Buddha was invisible.
MN49:26.10: And while invisible I recited this verse: ‘Seeing the danger in continued existence—that life in any existence will cease to be—I didn’t welcome any kind of existence, and didn’t grasp at relishing.’
