For most, it is difficult to describe Siddhārtha Gautama (the Historical Buddha) without imagining the round, jovial human form we have become accustomed to in popular culture. For five hundred years, however, Buddhism existed entirely without a human depiction of its leader; Instead, ancient Indian cultures produced various symbols to represent him in their artwork. The symbolic meaning of these images still remains a hotly debated subject between scholars, art historians, and archeologists. Nonetheless, these emblems should not be viewed as solely Buddhist, as they carried multiple meanings that accounted for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.
The earliest known Buddhist artworks can be traced to the Maurya period of Ancient India (322-185 B.C.E), during the rule of King Ashoka the Great, whose reign lasted from 274-232 B.C.E. In the beginning of his rule, King Ashoka was known as a vicious tyrant who ravaged the other areas of the India Subcontinent. His most famous historical campaign was known as the Kalinga War, where he fought over a neighboring territory of India known as Kalinga. King Ashoka converted to Buddhism following the war, ashamed and disgusted by the bloodshed he caused and witnessed. In fact, he wholly adopted the religion of Buddhism as a national doctrine following this conquest, bringing peace to an entire nation of people during his time. Owing to his ambitious nature, Ashoka erected over 84,000 monuments dedicated to the Buddhist faith.
During the lifetime of King Ashoka, the famous stupa at sanchi was erected, which contains essentially all of the symbols associated with Gautama Siddhartha. A stupa is a mound-like structure which contains relics and the remains of the Buddha, and serves as a...
... middle of paper ...
...al, as the four wheels depicted likely do not represent the Historical Buddha, but are more closely related to their Vedic origins. The construction of the pillar predates the use of solely Buddhist symbolism, instead, the four lions and wheels depicted can be related to its nature as an already auspicious sign.
Works Cited
Buchthal, Hugo. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs , Vol. 81, No. 476 (Nov., 1942), pp. 278-279+281
Burgess, Jas. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (Jan., 1902), pp. 29-45
Dhavalikar, Madhukar Keshav. Sanchi. New Delhi: Oxford UP, 2003. Print.
Karlsson, Klemens. Face to Face with the Absent Buddha: The Formation of Buddhist Aniconic Art. Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University, 1999. Print.
Krishan, Y. The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1996. Print.
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.
The lotus flowers surround Buddha and he also is sitting on a giant one. They are symbols that the Buddha is awakened almost as a sign of rebirth. The lotus flowers meaning in Buddhism means rising above everything and achieve enlightenment. There are lotus flowers that are not yet open representing that not all are yet enlightened and the lotuses that are fully bloomed representing full-enlightenment and self-awareness. Buddha sits in front of the Bodhi tree which literally means awakening or enlightenment. Behind the tree is a full moon and in Buddhism has a great significance. The Buddha was born on a full moon day and his enlightenment was also during a full moon. The Buddha also has earth touching mudra. Mudra is the religious hand gestures and earth touching is “calling the earth to witness”. These concepts go back to the Four Noble Truths. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. The fist noble truth is represented by the temptresses and the flaming arrows sent from Mara. After the temptresses did not seduce Buddha Mara sent flaming arrows from all directions towards the Buddha representing that all of life’s sufferings. This artwork shows the second noble truth by Buddha avoiding the temptresses that Mara sent and in this way Buddha avoided having cravings or desires. By not submitting to those desires and cravings Buddha realized that this is the ending all suffering is to remove all desire, ill will and ignorance therefore completing the third noble truth. The fourth noble truth is represented by the weight of the Buddha in the artwork showing Buddha not overweight and not starving but in the middle showing him living The Middle Path. When artists get to work responding and expressing, whether or not also to urge a point,
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
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...
I am going to compare two iconic statues from two distinct religions, Buddhism and Daoism. The Buddhist statue I have chosen to examine is the Giant Buddha at Leshan from the Tang Dynasty in China and the Daoist statue being the Laozi Statue from the Song Period in China. Both statues are in China and are large icons, yet intricate differences lie within the details of each statue that reveal major advances and philosophies from their times. Both religious statues have a being associated behind them; Siddharth Gautama being the Buddha from Buddhism and Laozi being the founder of Daoism.
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
The piece itself displays two Buddhas, seated next to each other, two bodhisattvas on either side of the Buddhas, apsaras across the top of the stele, along with four monks and two lions adorning the bottom. In this stele, the...
Chinese artwork is a form that contains and demonstrates many different meanings and morals that can be linked back to not only religion, but the overall meaning of life. This paper will discuss the sculpture titled Seated Buddha and how it represents peace, enlightenment, and the overall importance of how these two components influence the mindset of the people involved in the Buddhist religion. The Seated Buddha was created between the 5th and 6th century in China. The artist of this piece is unknown, but this does not hinder us at all from seeing what the artist was trying to portray through the different aspects that they included in the Seated Buddha sculpture. This piece is crafted from stone and a chisel was then used to create the
Buddhist art spread across Asian countries, as believers brought the existing art and principles with them. The religion evolved in each new place to fit the new societies, which influenced the way the Buddha and Buddhist principles were represented in art. Starting from Theravada Buddhism in India, the religion evolved into another main branch called Mahayana Buddhism, which is popular in China, Korea, and Japan. Throughout its history, Buddhism has been ever changing to include local beliefs and customs, and the combination of these local usages with imported beliefs and symbols is characteristic of Buddhist art throughout Asia. Each new offshoot of Buddhism has its own unique take on the symbolism and rituals used to represent the religion.
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.
Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacarita: The Life of the Buddha serves as one of the most relevant and profound texts regarding the Buddhist religion and it’s foundations. However, unlike other popular religious texts, this one does not serve as a historical document but rather a vessel for explaining the teachings of the Buddha, serving as a guide for the followers of the Enlightened One. Ashvaghosha’s descriptions of the Buddha, his life, and his actions provide an example of the Buddha’s disciplines and truths, giving his followers a detailed and structured idea of his way of life. The Buddhacarita’s descriptions in particular focus on the teaching of pervasive suffering, it’s causes, and the paths (both right and wrong) to breaking free from it.
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Spence, H. D. M. Daniel. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909. Print. The