Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment And Scenes In The Art Of The Buddha

Many religions often embrace art as a way to explain their beliefs, and encourage devotion. This is true in Buddhism, and works depicting the Buddha and scenes from his life are a common fixture in the art of many Asian countries. In several pieces at the Worcester Art Museum, especially Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness, different scenes of the Buddha’s life are depicted show using a rich iconography that illustrates the Buddha’s enlightenment and other traits. The Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, teachings, and eventual entrance into Nirvana are all common scenes in art. At the Worcester Art Museum, many ideas about Buddhism can be learned by examining the life of the Buddha as detailed in Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness and other

Because of this, he is regarded as the greatest Buddha, and is simply referred to as ‘the Buddha.’ Before attaining Buddhahood, Siddhartha was born to a royal family in India. Siddhartha lived a sheltered life, and left to find enlightenment after seeing the suffering of the world. The Buddha achieves enlightenment after meditating under the Bodhi tree. Shortly after this, the Buddha preached his first sermon in Varanasi. When the Buddha’s life ended, he achieved Nirvana. These scenes in the Buddha’s life are commonly depicted in Buddhist art, with many of them being represented in Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness. Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness details the birth of the Buddha in the lower left-hand corner. In the life of Siddhartha, it is believed that Siddhartha’s mother gave birth to him while travelling to her homeland. The panel depicting the Buddha’s birth shows a woman wearing jewelry, as well as an infant. The way the infant and the woman are juxtaposed gives a sense of movement, which may indicate the idea that the Buddha was born while his mother, was still travelling. This illustrates an event in the life of the Buddha that is often