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 …show more content…
People admired the overall concept of the religion and how it brought peace and enlightenment not only into their life, but the people that they are surrounded by. Many different artist began to create what they thought Buddha and how he, being the face of the religion, demonstrates how one can find these qualities in their life. Author of the book History of Chinese Philosophy, Bo Mou states that “....an affectionate concern for the well-being of one 's fellows in the community, society, or a state governed by a wise and virtuous ruler”, when referring to Buddha. In Seated Buddha, it can be mistaken that this sculpture does not posses a lot of great detail, but upon further inspection, it is obvious that it holds very detailed designs. This sculpture has a halo-type structure around the head of the Buddha and he is seated on an elevated surface. I believe that by placing the Buddha on this surface it then emphasizes his holiness and his importance to and in the community. One main feature that the Seated Buddha holds is the fact that he is seated in the lotus position, which ultimately was done to support the concept of peacefulness and calmness. The man has his right-hand open resting on his knee with his palm facing up. By doing this, I believe that the artist is showing the concept of openness and the idea of the Buddha figure being welcoming to others. The Seated Buddha is depicted with his eyes shut and a smile on his face. To me, this is showing that one can be happy regardless of what they can and cannot see and that you do not have to observe something in order to be happy. This can also mean that even if there is bad happening in the world, you can not look at the bad and just help others through their pain, which can then boost the amount of happiness that you
The statue that will be the focus of this paper portrays the figure “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light.” Like many other statues of the Buddha, this Amida Buddha was portrayed to be deep in meditation, sitting cross-legged. A viewer could observe that the Amida Buddha is making a hand gesture while in deep meditation. These gestures, also known as “mudras,” are symbolic in the Buddhist religion, and they are used to convey certain ideas (O’Riley 70). In this case, the Amida Buddha is making the mudra of appeasement (“Amida”). More physical observations could be made by pointing out the “balanced form, divine features, and flowing drapery” (“Amida”) of the Amida Buddha. Those qualities represent the nature of the Buddha, revealing him as “transcendent, graceful, and compassionate” (“Amida”). Features common to other Buddha sculptures show up on this Amida Buddha, like the elongated earlobes, the mole on his forehead, and patterned hair. At first glance, the Am...
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.
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,
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...
Christianity is one of the largest and most powerful religions in the world with Jesus Christ being the main figure that is most celebrated. Jesus is known to be a man of kindness and wisdom with a connection with his assumed father (God) that makes Christians want to follow his footsteps. Buddhism is a religion that may not actually be a religion as its guidelines do not highlight one true ruler but that there is divine wisdom in everyone. What has fascinated me is the parallels between the two religions that have few similarities in foundation have many in practices. Throughout this paper there will be explanation on what Christ consciousness truly is along with Buddha nature and how as different as they might seem in reality they are one and the same.
Malcolm Brown’s photo from 1963 demonstrates enlightenment through altruistic behaviour. Steve-MCcurry’s 2004 photo explores gender roles and minimalistic roles in Buddhism and the commitment to its practice. The photo published in 2011 by anonymous source is an excellent example of the bodhisattva discipline, and demonstrates the importance of reincarnation in Buddhist culture. In comparing these three photos one can see similarities such as (insert text here). Although these photos share these similarities, there are different messages attributed to each photo such as (insert text here). Without the dedicated study of these Buddhist monks, the tasks occurring in each photo would not occur without their commitment to Buddhism. This commitment has driven these monks beyond laymen’s terms, and their advancement physically and spiritually has led to them being able to perform tasks such as those depicted in these three
The princely bearing sculpture of the Bodhisattva is distinguished by its form and shape of its body, high class jewels, and rich garments worn. The relaxed pose represents the Bodhisattva’s connection with mankind, through compassion, and depicts that it has devoted itself to helping further the spiritual progress of others to attain Enlightenment. By postponing its own achievement of nirvana and buddhahood, it emphasis the Bodhisattva’s peaceful and compassionate state of
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.
It has been stated in the textbook that Buddhism is a lifestyle and a mediation practice (Altshuler and Janaro 282). Therefore, the white Buddha statue represents enlightenment and purity within the religion of Buddhism (Heim 367). The Buddha statue is the most prominent object within the picture, thus it depicts the representation of Buddhism as the overall main topic in the photograph. The lotus flowers that are pink in the photograph represent fortune and beauty within the Vietnamese culture (St John 562). In Vietnam there are three different colors of the lotus flower, which each represents a different meaning: red represents beauty; pink represents history; white represents purity (St John 562).
The Giant Buddha of Leshan is a carving of a large Chinese Monk that resides in the mountain of Mount Emei that looks over three rivers, the Minjian, Dadu, Qingyi. However, the element that stands out is that the Buddha of Leshan is considered to be one of the largest statues in the world. The carving stands 233 feet tall and is roughly 92 feet wide, and even some people would say if the giant statue was not sitting it would be taller than the Statue of Liberty. However, when looking at the statue from my perspective, the artist and construction crew captures a sense of artistic beauty, hard work, and dedication. With his black spiraled curly hair, his broad grin, and his gazing eyes as the water from the river flows below his feet; the giant
In the Buddhist religion, they praise several gods that represent different things and increase their chances fortunate opportunities such as increased chances of wealth, good luck, and fertility. To praise these gods, they can worship and pray to them in their homes and at their places of worship called temples. These temples have a statue of the god and, in respect to these gods, their worshipers burn incense and pray to the god- often placing money below the statue for the monks. These temples are designed to symbolize the five elements; fire, air, earth, water, and wisdom. When praying to the gods there are mantras that are repeated a certain amount of times. To remember how many times to repeat these mantras there is a physical aid that
Most works of art involving Buddha have features that are almost always there. Whenever a person sees Buddha, he always has most of the ten qualities or powers of a Buddha, described in Story of the Life of Buddha Shakyamuni. However there are thirty-two major characteristics and eight minor, among them is the eight-spoked lines on the soles and palms. The spot between Buddha’s eyebrows, sometimes calls the third eye or wisdom bump, is a mark of wisdom. The nose has a specific length like the ears have their own characteristics. The enlightenment-elevation on the top of the head, describe by old texts as emerging from the head of a saint, symbolize Buddha’s enlightenment and is a visible symbol of the “spiritual generative power that strives toward heaven and passes into the immaterial sphere.” (Buddhist Art: Perfect Proportions of a Buddha, Para. 3). The Yoga position stemming from the pre-Buddhist tradition in India hides the lower half of Buddha’s body, but show the divine meditating with the utmost concentration, soles visible. The image of Buddha expresses serenity and proportional beauty. These Measurements are laid out in the canon of Buddhist art, which corresponds to ideal physical proportions; each span has a twelve-finger breadth and has 9 breadths. If there is a background behind Buddha it usually depicts a halo around his head. For example, the Buddha in Buddhism: a Brief Introduction on page thirty-eight exhibits a fiery halo. The Buddha statue from the Art Institute is sitting in the lotus position, have the wisdom bump, and the hair is knotted on the top of the head. Also the Buddha would have had long ear lobes if they were not broken off. The long ear lobes seem to be a symbol of his wealth and that the fact that they are now longer filled shows that he renounced wealth. At the end of the story the Prince did just the he renounced his wealth and became Buddha.
This sculpture seems to epitomize the ideal male human form. All of the body parts seem perfectly proportioned and the muscles are beautifully defined as if the image were of an athlete. The image is youthful with a calm demeanor. The right missing forearm looks as if it used to be resting at his side, while the left elbow was probably at a 90 degree angle, with the hand holding something. The slight bend in the left leg gives the impression of movement, as if the image was frozen while walking. The counterpoised stance adds an air of nobility to the "man".
The Drowa Sangmo Mural and the portrait of Shantarakshita are both essential examples of Himalayan Buddhist art, telling stories not just of the literal history of Buddhism but also of the underlying cultural forces and religious meanings at play. Taking a closer look at the painting Shantarakshita and Scenes of His Life in Tibet and the Drowa Sangmo mural, it can be stated that the color scheme, proportion and scale of these objects are similar, but significant differences can be found in the form, hierarchy and composition of these objects which can be explained with disparity in the main themes of these objects and materials.
Art holds several tasks: education, honoring, or worship. “In Buddhist painting and sculpture, the Buddha is always represented with a countenance happy, serene, content and compassionate. Never a trace of suffering or agony or pain is to be seen. Buddhist art and architecture, Buddhist temples never give the impression of gloom or sorrow, but produce an atmosphere of calm and serene joy. Although there is suffering in life, a Buddhist should not be gloomy over it, should not be angry or impatient at it.” (Rahula, 47) In this way, art teaches Buddhists to embrace life in a realistic and adaptive manner. Not only does it educate, but art also purposely glorifies Buddha. One can perceive all of Buddha’s features, each intricately carved to prompt followers of Buddha to also want to attain enlightenment, just as he has. Buddhist art also emphasizes many symbols such as the swastika, lotus, or the dragon. Unfortunately, the swastika symbol was distorted by the Nazis, but it originally represented Buddha’s heart or good fortune, prosperity, and abundance. Lotuses symbolize purity and detachment from society and other saintly virtues. In Buddhism, dragons represent enlightenment or Nirvana. This is why they remain guardians to countless temples and roofs. Colors also play a significant symbolic role, especially in the colors that are used in a temple. Red symbolizes preservation and