Art Appreciation
Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to one source, the reincarnation system for the Living Buddhas is the main point distinguishing Tibetan Buddhism from other forms of Buddhism.
“In 1252 , Kublai Khan granted an audience to Pagba and Garma Pakshi, an eminent monk with the Garma Gagyu Sect. Garma Pakshi, however, sought the patronage of Monge Khan who proceeded to bestow him a gold-rimmed black hat and a golden seal of authority. Prior to his death in 1283, Garma Paksli penned a will to ensure the established interests of his sect. The will advised his disciples to locate a boy to inherit the black hat, with the instruction based on the premise that Buddhist ideology is eternal, and a Buddha would be reincarnated to complete the missions he had initiated. Garma Pakshi's disciples acted in accordance with the will and located the reincarnated soul boy of their master. The event marked the introduction of the Living Buddha reincarnation system for the Black-Hat Line of Tibetan Buddhism.”
(http://www.tibet-tour.com/tibet/reincarnati...
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...giving to humanity. Both paintings seem to suggest that this kind of selflessness will result in serenity.
Works Cited
Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South. Tibet, 13th century C.E. Mineral pigments on cotton cloth, height 361/2”. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Cimabue. Madonna Enthroned. C. 1280-90. Tempera on wood, 12’71/2”x7’4”. Galleria delgi Uffizi, Florence.
“Angels in Christianity.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. Feb. 19, 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_Christianity
“Cimabue.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. Feb. 19, 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimabue
“Ratnasambhava.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. Feb. 19, 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratnasambhava
“The Reincarnation of the Living Buddhas.” Tibet Travel Expert. n.d. Web. Feb. 19, 2011.
http://www.tibet-tour.com/tibet/reincarnation.html
The Buddha was and is an important figure in several different cultures, and his influence has spread over large areas. Across these different cultures, many forms of art portrayed him in different ways. In Japan, one of the Buddha’s titles stood out as the “Amida Buddha.” The statue that this paper will be detailing portrays “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light” (“Amida”). The statue is located in the Dayton Art Institute’s Japanese Art Gallery 105 with the acquisition number 1935.1. Created in the thirteenth century during the Kamakura period, this statue stands out in the Dayton Art Institute as a prominent Buddha figure. It is made of wood with lacquer and gilt, and it was built to be approximately the size of a normal person.
Walking into the Hall of the Buddhas, there was a sense of peace and guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province, made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).
It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men. Great men are leaders. They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society. Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men. Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres. But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man. When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common. This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas: conception and birth. In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.
“Buddhism is the oldest worldwide religion. It is known to be a religion, a philosophy and a way of life.” The main idea, foundation and fundamentals of Buddhism were born 2,500 years ago in the foothills of India. Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family and raised as a prince in the Gupta period. He was always confined to the palace and was sheltered from the real world. As time went on, Siddhartha wanted to find out the meaning of life and his experiences through his journey created the practice of Buddhism. His first teaching as a Buddha was based on the doctrine of the four noble truths and along with the principle of the middle way, the eight fold path. Through oral tra...
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Gautama Buddha is the founder of Buddhism, a religion that is heterodoxy to Hinduism. In Hinduism, Gautama Buddha is viewed as the ninth avatar, or a purposeful descendant of a supreme being, of the God Vishnu-specifically in Vaishnava Hinduism. It is believed that he lived and taught between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. The word “buddha” refers to the first awakened being during in a Yuga era, but Gautama Buddha is regarded as the Supreme Buddha.
This question focuses on the introduction of Russian Constructivism, the Mexican. Mural movement which was mainly affected by the ideology of Marxism. How they are different from each other, aesthetically, ideologically, conceptually. Russian Constructivism began right after the Bolshevik revolution against Russia. Empire.
Evidence of the birth of Buddha being celebrated goes back to the 4th century, and it is believed the festival was even celebrated before that. And just as in the western world, the festival is celebrated differently in different countries in the eastern world too! What are these differences, and how is the festival celebrated? And how did celebrations originally start? What major changes have taken place in how the ceremony and rites were performed over the centuries? These questions are the focus for this paper.
Almost everybody I have ever met can recognize a Buddha statue, but few folks who I have ever associated with understand the meaning of the Buddha. Myself included was one of those folks blessed with such ignorance. When the term Buddha was brought up, all I thought about was the pudgy bellies of myself and fellow offensive lineman on my high school football team. Nirvana! Hey isn’t that one of the great rock bands of the early nineties? Right? In this paper, I will explain who the Buddha was and the deep meaning of the message that Prince Guatama preached.
In this paper, I will express the thought and feeling that Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Bank of the Oise at Auvers, Oil on canvas, 1890, gives me. Bank of the Oise at Auvers depicts eleven small boats on the bank of the river Oise in France. A woman is seated in one boat and a man and woman are standing on the shore. I did not wonder into the Detroit Institute of Arts trying to find a painting to write about for an assignment, I entered the museum though, hoping for a painting to notice me and speak to me. That is exactly what this work accomplished. The work caught my eye in a noticeable fashion. What I noticed the most were the boldness of the brush strokes, and how the colors expressed do not blend carefully with each other, but rather they all individually stand out. You can notice very easily the direction in which the strokes are heading, and what message they are trying to convey. There are many reasons that I chose this painting, and I will go into fine detail throughout the course of the paper of exactly what I mean.
Buddhism places a high value on finding the truth. This fundamental principal allows for an acceptance of science, as it is seen as a modern truth to most. Furthermore, Buddhists believe in the evolution of human consciousness—this evolution, along with the truth presented from science, allows for an over arching acceptance of biological evolution. Even more interesting is that in the Agganna Sutta, a sacred Buddhist text, Buddha explains the world as having evolved over time. Though there is no mention of biological evolution, there is still an emphasis of evolution as a whole—both physically and spiritually. Tibetan Buddhism is known as the branch of Buddhism that has the largest emphasis on reincarnation, which is the most relevant to this research. Reincarnation is driven by the decisions made in each life and is basically the knowledge that one’s spirit travels between material beings over different lives. The spirit evolves as one becomes closer and closer to Nirvana, or perfection. Karma, too, influences the lives of the reincarnated as this idea causes the consequences of both good and bad deeds from each past life to be brought over to the current life. Overall, Tibetan Buddhism and evolution flow very well together as various Buddhist beliefs in spiritual evolution and karma, and the search for truth lead to the acceptance of science and evolution.
Many of the influences of Tibetan Buddhism came from India thousands of years ago. There were four phases leading up to the Tantric practice that is known today. 560 B.C.E. to 480 B.C.E. marked the first stage, the life of Siddharta Gautama, who Tibetans believe to be the original Buddha. The legend of the Buddha is that he was conceived in ...
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
Many people in western society are aware of who the Dalai Lama is, but like me, had no idea how much significance he has to the people of Tibet and Buddhist around the world. The Dalai Lama is the physical incarnation of Chenrezig, a follower of Siddhartha Gautama. Chenrezig made a vow to liberate the people of the world from suffering. His quest was both noble and difficult. According to legend, Chenrezig’s realization of the difficulty of completing his task made his head split into thousands of pieces. The Buddha then put the pieces back together giving Chenrezing a new form. He is said to have eleven heads and a thousand arms. Chenrezing assumed the role of the Bodhisattva of compassion, and his spirit lives within the Dalai Lama. A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being that choose to be reincarnated instead of nirvana, in order to help mankind.
Personally, my culture did not play a big role when I was in the midst