Buddhism

•  Two  main  branches  of  Buddhism:  Mahayana  and  Theravada  •  Mahayana  Buddhism  is  considered  the  “Northern  route”  and  

encompasses  Central  Asia,  Nepal,  Tibet,  Bhutan,  China,  Korea,  Japan  and  Vietnam.  

•  Mahayana  Buddhism  focuses  more  on  BodhisaDvas,  enlightened  beings  who  remain  on  earth  unFl  all  are  enlightened.  All  are  called  to  become  bodhisaDvas  –  on  the  path  to  full  Buddhahood.  

•  Theravada  Buddhism  ,  the  “southern  route,”  encompasses  Myanmar  (Burma),  Sri  Lanka,  Thailand,  Cambodia  and  Laos.  

•  Theravada  Buddhists  are  more  orthodox,  admiNng  only  the  oldest  of  Buddhist  texts  into  their  beliefs.  For  them,  bodhisaDvas  are  prior  incarnaFons  of  the  Buddha,  on  his  path  to  enlightenment.  

•  India,  the  homeland  of  Buddhism,  has  a  small  populaFon  of  Buddhists.  

Spread of Buddhism

Cliff notes: History of Buddhism•  566  –  486  BCE  Life  of  Siddhartha  Guatama,  historical  Buddha,  

Lumbini,  Nepal  •  486  BCE  Buddhist  Canon  formalized  at  First  Buddhist  Council  •  272  –  231  BCE  Indian  Emperor  Ashoka  enthusiasFcally  embraces  

Buddhism  &  builds  temples,  stupas;  his  son  Mahinda  spreads  Buddhism  to  Sri  Lanka  

•  Ca.  100  AD  Buddhism  established  in  Cambodia,  Vietnam,  Central  Asia  and  China  

•  Ca.  200  AD  Expansion  of  Buddhism  to  Burma,  Laos,  Indonesia.  •  Ca.  300  AD  Buddhism  enters  Korea  •  538  AD  Buddhism  enters  Japan  and  quickly  becomes  state  religion.  •  Ca.  900  AD  Buddhism  in  Thailand;  Islam  replaces  Buddhism  in  

Central  Asia  •  1193  Muslims  conquer  Magadha,  heartland  of  Buddhism  in  India,  

destroying  Buddhist  monasteries  and  universiFes  and  wiping  out  Buddhism  in  that  region.  

•  15th  century  Dalai  Lama  lineage  begins  in  Tibet  •  17th  century  Zen  Buddhism  revived  and  thrives  in  Japan  

Aniconic Buddha imagery•  IniFally,  Buddha  was  not  represented  by  the    human  form.  Footprints  (to  show  his  human  side),  an  empty  chair  or  throne,  or  empty  space  were  all  stand-­‐ins  for  Buddha.  

Mara  aDacking  Buddha  (symbolized  by    empty  throne).  Ashoka  C.  300  BCE,  India  

Attributes of Buddha•  Mudras  =  hand  gestures  which  signify  a  variety  of  aNtudes  and  purposes  

•  Elongated  earlobes  =  renunciaFon  of  earthly  riches  and  denial  of  greed  

•  There  are  a  total  of  32  major  lakshanas  including,  for  example,  hair  curls  turning  to  the  right.  One  of  the  most  important  is  the  Ushnisha  =  Head  bump  (someFmes  shown  as  a  bun)  signifies  enlightened  wisdom.  

•  Lotus  flower  –  grows  up  from  muck  at  boDom  of  a  pond,  symbolizing  the  spiritual  journey  to  rise  above  problems  to    find  enlightenment  

Bodhisattvas•  Right:  BodhisaDva  Maitreya  (final  

Buddha)  •  Below:  BodhisaDva  Padmapani  

Common mudras•  Abhaya  mudra  =  no  fear,  protecFon  •  Dharmachakra  mudra  =  wheel  of  Dharma,  gesture  of  teaching  

•  Vitarka  mudra  =  discussion  and  transmission  of  Buddhist  teaching  

•  Dhyana  mudra  =  gesture  of  meditaFon  •  Varada  mudra  =  offering,  welcome,  charity,  compassion  

•  Bhumisparsha  mudra  =  earth-­‐touching  gesture  which  depicts  Buddha’s  moment  of  enlightenment  and  vanquishing  of  the  temptaFon  of  demons;  the  transformaFon  of  anger  to  wisdom.    

Gandharan Buddha, ca. 100 AD

•  Considered  the  oldest  extant  image  of  Buddha  

•  Tokyo  NaFonal  Museum  •  Gandhara  =  Greco-­‐Roman  

influence  daFng  from  conquest  of  region  by  Alexander  the  Great  

•  NaturalisFc  rendering  •  Greek  style  toga,  ushnisha  

becomes  a  hair  bun  •  Buddha  Shakyamuni  (current  

Buddha)  

Gandharan Buddha���

Ca. 100-200 AD

•  BriFsh  Museum  collecFon  

•  Carved  in  schist  (metamorphic  rock)  

•  Man-­‐bun  as  ushnisha;  elongated  ear  lobes;  Dharmachakra  mudra  (gesture  of  teaching)  recalls  Buddha’s  first  sermon  aoer  aDaining  enlightenment.  

Mathura Buddha��� ca. 470

•  Red  sandstone  •  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  NYC  

•  Abhaya  mudra  (protecFon)  

•  Simple  monk  robes  •  Robust  musculature  and  frontal  standing  pose  recall  warrior-­‐savior  figures  of  Kushan  period  (northwest  India,  100  BCE  -­‐    200  AD)  

Mathura Buddha, 82

AD•  Kimball  Art  Museum,  TX  •  Carved  of  local  red  

sandstone  •  Indigenous  figural  style  

(less  naturalisFc)  •  Emphasis  on  grace  and  

delight  (smile)  •  Large  halo  =  diviinity  •  Hands  and  feet  marked  

with  lotus  and  wheel,  symbolizing  divinity  and  teaching.  

•  Same  style  and  some  aDributes  shared  with  Hinduism  and  Jainism  

Gupta Buddha���Ca. 550 AD•  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  NYC  

•  Bronze  •  Mathura  influence  •  ProporFons  reflect  aestheFc  canons  of  the  Fme  

•  Elegant  body,  stylized  hair  

Buddhist architecture in India

•  IniFally,  shrines  or  temples  followed  the  same  paDern  as  Hindu  temples:  square  inner  space  with  surrounding  pathway  with  colonnade.  

•  Spire  represented  Mount  Meru,  center  of  the  universe  and  home  of  the  deiFes.  

•  Viharas  are  Buddhist  monasteries.  •  The  stupa  is  a  uniquely  Buddhist  structure,  originally  designed  to  hold  relics  of  the  Buddha.  

Stupa (Sanskrit for “heap”)

•  Early  stupas  were  simply  dirt  burial  mounds.  The  earliest  surviving  stupa  is  located  at  Sanchi,  India,  and  was  constructed  by  Ashoka,  Indian  emperor  who  converted  to  Buddhism  aoer  witnessing  the  carnage  caused  by  his  conquest  of  Kalinga  and  enthusiasFcally  converted  his  kingdom,  building  stupas  to  house  parts  of  the  historical  Buddha’s  remains  and  scaDering  pillars  throughout  his  kingdom.  

Stupa at Sanchi ca. 200 BCE•  Oldest  stone  structure  in  India,  doubled  in  size  in  later  years.  

Ashoka’s pillar at Lumbini (birthplace of Buddha) ca.

Ashoka’s apology to village of Kalinga

•  Two  periods  of  construcFon:  300  –  100  BCE;  460  –  480  AD  

•  Considered  the  “finest  surviving  examples  of  Indian  art”  

•  They  include  stupas,  viharas  (monasteries),  shrines  and  temples:  approximately  30  in  total  

•  Dry  fresco  painFngs  survive  in  both  early  and  late  caves;  earliest  examples  of  Indian  painFng.    

•  Although  considered  early  manifestaFons  of  Mahayana  Buddhist  tradiFon,  the  Buddha  is  the  key  figure,  not  the  BodhisaDvas  –  only  a  few  are  depicted  at  Ajanta.  

Aerial view of Ajanta caves

Ajanta Cave 1

•  Cave  1  is  a  vihara  –  halls  for  prayer  and  living  for  monks;  

•  Note  individual  “cells”  around  central  space,    

•  sanctuary  at  rear  (image  above)  

Ajanta Cave 1The  Ajanta  cave  painFngs  mostly  reference  Jatakas,  or  “birth  stories”,  stories  about  the  various  lives  of  the  Buddha.  

Cave 4 – ceiling painting

Cave 9 – early Chaitya (stupa hall)

Cave 26 – late chaitya

Reclining Buddha

Cave 4 – ceiling painting

Cave 4 – Buddha surrounded by Bodhisattvas

•  Some  painFngs  from  various  caves  

Buddhism in China•  Buddhism  entered  China  ca.  200  BCE  •  China  and  India  traded  influences  unFl  11th  –  12th  century  when  Islam  took  over  India.  Aoer  that,  Tibet,  China,  Korea  and  Japan  became  world  centers  of  Buddhism.  

•  In  China,  Mahayana  Buddhism  embraced  more  than  the  “historical  Buddha”,  Siddharta  Guatama  (Buddha  Shakyamuni);  rather,  “celesFal  Buddhas”  and  BodhisaDvas  are  also  revered.  Between  300  –  900  AD,  2  branches  of  Chinese  Buddhism  developed:  Pure  Land  (based  on  devoFon  and  faith  as  the  path  to  enlightenment)  and  Chan  (Zen)  Buddhism  (based  on  meditaFon  and  mindfulness  during  daily  acFviFes).    

Buddha Maitreya, 486 AD, Northern Wei Dynasty

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin), ca. 550, N.Qi

dynasty•  Nearly  14  feet  tall,  sandstone  

•  Extreme  adornment  references  Central  Asian  and  Chinese  culture  of  the  Fme  

•  Alludes  to  passage  in  Lotus  Sutra  

Avalokiteshvara as Guan-yin

•  Ca.  1025,  China  Contemporary  statue  

Avalokiteshvara, China•  “Thousand-­‐armed”  Guanyin  •  Guanyin  vowed  that  "Should  He  

ever  become  disheartened  in  saving  senFent  beings,  may  His  body  shaDer  into  a  thousand  pieces.”  Bao’en  Temple,  China  

•  hDps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-­‐jPFqvUTo  

Qingzhou, Shandong Province site, 1996

Qingzhou Buddhist sculptures: What happened?

•  1996,  a  bulldozer  was  leveling  a  playing  field  in  Qingzhou,  Shandong  Province,  when  bits  of  statuary  started  turning  up.  

•  Archaeologists,  excavaFng  under  severe  Fme  restraints,  found  400+  Buddhist  statues,  all  broken,  daFng  between  529  –  577  AD.  (Northern  Wei,  Eastern  Wei  and  Northern  Qi  dynasFes.    

•  Statues  were  carefully  placed:  biggest  and  most  complete  in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  many  heads  of  Buddhas,  covered  by  remains  of  reed  mats.    

•  Among  the  sculptures  were  found          coins  and  poDery  daFng  to  the  early          12th  century.  What  does  it  all  mean??  

•  Earliest  dates  to  529  AD  •  Note  flaDened  bodies  hidden  

by  drapery  •  Later  sculpture  shows  more  

rounded  bodies.    •  Which  is  the  older?  

•  In  pre-­‐modern  Fmes,  sculptures  were  usually  painted.  Bright  pigments  were  expensive  and  rare,  so  the  presence  of  dazzling  color  on  a  sculpture  reinforced  its  sancFty.    

•  Most  of  the  Qingzhou  sculptures  retain  some  pigment,  usually  in  several  layers,  indicaFng  that  they  were  regularly  repainted,  repaired  and  regilded.  

BodhisaDva  Avalokiteshvara  •  Northern  Qi  Dynasty,  550  –  557  AD  •  Influenced  by  Gandhara  and  

Mathuran  (Indian)  style  Buddhas  

Some differences between Chinese and Indian Buddhist sculpture:

•  Typically  thin  bodies  and  thick  drapery  in  Chinese  Buddhas,  typical  of  Chinese  scholars  

•  Early  Chinese  Buddhas  are  formal  and  sFff,  with  no  sense  of  the  body  beneath  the  robe;  later  there  are  Indian  influences.  

•  Many  statues  of  elaborately  carved  and  ornamented  bodhisaDvas  in  China  

•  BodhisaDvas  of  ambiguous  gender  •  Chinese  Buddhas  have  more  Chinese-­‐like  facial  features  

•  New  design  elements,  such  as  dragons  

Which is Indian and which Chinese? Why?

Lichuan, ca. 1000 AD

Some  monks,  in  old  age,  self-­‐mummified  by  meditaFng  unFl  death  and  subsisFng  on  a  diet  of  wood,  seeds,  etc.  In  Japan,  there  was  a  custom  of  being  buried  alive  with  a  breathing  tube.  This  is  considered  by  many  to  be  a  travesty  of  the  Buddhist  belief  in  impermanence  but  these  monks  felt  it  would  hasten  their  achievement  of  ulFmate  enlightenment.  Now  outlawed  as  a  form  of  religious  suicide.  

Tibetan Buddhism•  Buddhism  (Mahayana)  introduced  to  Tibet  ca.  600  AD,  and  named  state  religion  by  end  of  700s.  It  became  dominant  there  by  around  1100  AD.  

•  Major  stylisFc  influences  from  Nepal  and  China  but  by  1400  Tibet  had  developed  its  own  style.  

•  Sculptures  and  painFngs  considered  aids  for  Buddhist  meditaFon,  to  encourage  presence  of  divinity  in  mind  of  the  worshipper.  

•  Commissions  of  art  brought  merit  to  donor  as  well  as  all  senFent  beings,  reminding  all  that  they  too  can  achieve  enlightenment.  

Panjara Mahakala

•  Painted  stone  •  Late  1300s  •  God  of  death  –  symbolic  destroyer  of  the  bodily  self;  god  of  jusFce  who  punished  transgressors  and  protects  the  righteous.  Holds  a  skull  cup  and  chopper,  balances  a  baton.  

Tibetan Tanka or Thangka

•  Typical  Tibetan  manifestaFon  of  the  Buddha  –funcFons  include:  

•  Teaching  tool  •  MeditaFon  aid  •  Used  during  rituals  or  ceremonies  

•  decoraFve  

hDp://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/Fbetan-­‐buddhist-­‐

monks-­‐sand-­‐art    

•  Very  large  scale  Thangka,  Tibet  

•  Photo  from  1938