Buddhist Art

Column, Lauriya Nandangargh Maureen Period, 3rd century BCE, 30 ft high

Lion Capital from a Column, Sarnath, India, Mauryan period, mid-third century BCE, sandstone

Yaksha Kuberaand Yakshi Chanda,detail from east gate of BharhutStupa,India, 2nd century BCE, purple sandstone

Yaksha Kuberaand Yakshi Chanda,detail from east gate of BharhutStupa,India, 2nd century BCE, purple sandstone

Yakshibeneath a mango tree, SanchiStupa,

India, ca. 150-50 BCE

Great Stupa,Sanchi,India, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, 120’ in diameter, gateways 35’ high

Siddhartha’sGreat Departure from Home and Family, detail from crossbar, east gate, Great Stupa,Sanchi, 1stcentury BCE to 1st century CE

Siddhartha’sDefeat of Mara’sArmy, detail from crossbar, north gate, Great Stupa,Sanchi, 1stcentury BCE to 1st century CE

Birth of Shakyamuni,stupacasing, Amaravati,Andhra Pradesh, India, 2nd century CE

A Buddha, presumably Shakyamuni,in an

abhayamudra pose with ushnisha,Takht-I-Bahi,Pakistan, third century, schist stone

Takht-I-bahi complex, Pakistan, begun ca. 2nd century

A bodhisattva, possibly Shakyamunior

Avalokiteshvara?,Pakistan, third to fourth

century, schist stoneurnaushnishaabhaya

mudra

Siddhartha as an ascetic, Pakistan, thirdto fourth century

Buddha, possibly Shakyamuni,Sarnath,Uttar Pradesh, India, Gupta Period, ca. 465-485

Cave 19 at Ajanta, Maharashtra Province,India, late fifth century

Siddhartha’slife as King Janaka,detail from Cave 1, Ajanta, India, late fifth century, dry fresco

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvaraholding a lotus, Cave 1, Ajanta, Maharashtra Province, India, late fifth century

Bamiyan Buddhas created mid 6th to early 7th centurylocated in what is present-day Afghanistan

Buddha and other figures, Mount Kongwang,Jiangsu Province, China, second to third century CE

Cave 254 at Mogao,Dunhuang,Gansu Province, late fifth century (N. Wei period), China

Colossal Buddha, Cave 20, Yungang,Datong, (N. Wei capital Pingcheng),Shanxi Province, China, c. 460-480, over 40 feet tall

Buddha, BinyangChapel, Longmen,Luoyang, Northern Wei, c. 523 CE,20 feet tall

Buddha Maitreya,HebeiProvince, China, dated 524, gilt bronze, 30”highapsara

Stelecommissioned by Zhang Danguiand

others, China, Northern Qi period, dated 557, limestone 42”tall

Buddha Amitabha,Zhaozhou,HebeiProvince, China, dated 593, lost wax cast bronze with

inscription, 13 incheshigh

Buddha Vairocana,Cave 1280, Longmen,

Luoyang, Henan Province, Tang Dynasty, ca. 675 695, limestone, 56 feet high

Guardians of the North Wall

Outermost guardian is a dvarapalas,protector of entrywaysInnermost is a lokapalasor heavenly king (tianwang),based on yakshasof early IndiaPagoda holding guardian (heavenly king) is Pishamen,protector of north

A Pensive Bodhisattva, probably Maitreya,

Korea, Silladuring the Three Kingdoms period, early 7th c. CE, gilt-bronze, 37 inchestallFlower boys - Silla

Seated Buddha at Seokguram(Sokkuram),

granite, ca. 751, Unified Sillaperiod, height 11’2”Based upon our reading assignment for today, describe the architecture andsymbolic program of Sokkuram.

Elevation of Seogkuram(Sokkuram),North

KyongsangProvince, Korea, United SillaPeriod, second half of the eight century, Commissioned by Kim Daeseong,member of King Gyeongdoek’scourtIn honor of those who were his parents in previous lifetimes.

Buddha Vairocana,Cave 1280, FengxianTemple, Longmen,Henan Province, Tang Dynasty, ca. 675-695, limestone, 56 feet highEmpress Wuruled 690-705

United SillaPeriod, second half of eighth century

Seated Buddha at Seokguram(Sokkuram),

granite, ca. 751, Unified Sillaperiod, height 11’2”

Horyuji(Monastery of Flourishing Law) Central Gate, destroyed by fire in 670, rebuiltin 711, south of the city of Nara, built for Prince Shotoku

Pagoda,Horyuji,7th century

Tori Busshi,ShakaTriad, in the Main Hall (Golden Hall), Horyuji,dated 623, gilt bronze, height 46 inchesCommissionedby Empress Suikobecause of deathof two court ladiesand illness of Prince ShotokuDedicated to Shotokuand his consort after their deaths in 622

TamamushiShrine, HoryujiTreasure House, c. 650, cypress and camphor wood, with lacquer, 84 inches high

Vyaghrijataka,detail of TamamushiShrine,

HoryujiTreasurHouse, c. 650, lacquer on wood, with open metalwork borders

Womb World Mandala, early Heian period,Japan, second half of the ninth century, hanging scroll, color on silk, 72 x60”Depicts the

phenomenal appearance of variousaspects of BuddhanatureIn the center is Vairocana(Dainichiin Japanese)

Diamond World Mandala, early HeianPeriod, second half of the ninth century, hanging scroll, color on silk, 72 x60” Depicts Vairocanaas the central transcendental Buddha and places him in relation to various phenomenal Buddhaswho have appeared in different times and places

The earliest phase of Buddhist art, lasting until the 1st century CE, has been described as aniconic; the Buddha was only represented through symbols such as an empty throne, Bodhi tree, a riderless horse with a parasol floating above an empty space (at Sanchi), Buddha's footprints, and the dharma wheel/Anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha started to emerge from the 1st century CE in Northern India. The two main centers of creation have been identified as Gandhara in today’s North West Frontier Province, in Pakistan, and the region of Mathura, in central northern India.

Ashoka's pillar symbolized the axis mundi (the axis on which the world spins), where heaven connects with the earth

Ashoka (r.269-232 BCE) powerful third ruler of the Mauryandynasty (323-185 BCE), adopted and promoted Buddhism through pilgrimage sites, Missionaries, & Fourteen edicts

Lumbini,Nepal - birthBodhgaya, India -

enlightenmentSarnath,India - first sermonKushinagar,India - death

the town where Buddha Shakyamuni passed into parinirvana- 'final nirvana'. The final passing beyond suffering manifested by buddhas and highly realized masters at the end of their lives.

Stories of Buddha's past lives

1. Existence is fundamentally painful, 2. this pain is the result of desire (or thirst) for things and states of beings, 3. this pain can be relieved, and 4. an Eightfold Path of practice and understanding is the cure.

Bhakti (called Bhatti in Pali) has been a common practice in Theravada Buddhism, where

offerings and group prayers are made to

Buddhist icons and particularly images of

Buddha.

the "Great Vehicle", celebrates Shakyamuni as one of several transcendent buddhas and

advocate the pursuit of enlightenment for the benefit of others, emphasizes meditation, has a strong visual component that stresses the ability to see buddhas and other divinities as a result of such practices, Bodhisattvas!!

Siddhartha Guatama (563 BCE- 483 BCE)

teaching's founded Buddhism, born in Lumbini, Nepal, and died in Kushinagar, India. He taught 4 noble truths, achieved enlightenment, etc.

network of trade routes through Asia, spread Buddhism, The transmission of Buddhism to

China via the Silk Road began in the 1st century CE, During this period Buddhism began to spread throughout Southeast, East, and Central Asia.Mahayana, Theravada, and Tibetan

Buddhism are the three primary forms of Buddhism that spread, through the Silk Road, across Asia.

a three-dimensional oval at the top of the head of the Buddha, conical form at the top of his head

a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark, symbolizes a third eye, vision into the divine world; a sort of ability to see past our mundane universe of suffering. The ūrṇā is the thirty-first physical characteristic of Buddha. It is generally thought to be a whorl of hair and be a mark or sign of the Buddha as a great being. The device is often seen on sculptures from the 2nd century CE. Sometimes represented with a jewel and

frequently said to symbolize wisdom.

A bodhisattva in this world era and will be the teaching buddha of the next world age, resides in Tushita heaven

Part of Buddhist cosmos, where Maitreya resides while awaiting his final birth during which he will become enlightened

319-500, one of prosperity and patronage of the arts, Sanksrit became the state language, and poetry and other literary arts thrived

A celestial buddha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of East Asian Buddhism. He is the Buddha of the WESTERN Land of Ultimate Bliss, Amitābha possesses infinite merits

resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra.

One of the most influential texts in the

Mahayana tradition: 1. Attaining the awakened mind of a Buddha is the practitioner's primary goal and 2. enlightened beings should remain in the world to help others

Bodhisattva who embodies compassion for all beings, In Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara has become the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. In Cambodia, he appears as Lokeśvara. Manifestations: 11-faced, thousand-armed, etc

Ruled northern China from 386 to 534

A paradisiacal realm created and maintained by a buddha or other awakened being.

Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other images or monuments for religious or political motives, ex: a number of anti-Buddhist campaigns in Chinese history, and temples and Buddhist images were destroyed. One of the most notable of these campaigns is the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of the Tang dynasty.

ruled unofficially as Empress and later, officially as Emperor of China (皇帝) during the brief Zhou dynasty (周, 684-705),[10] which interrupted the Tang dynasty (618–690 & 705–907), expanded Chinese empire, allied w/ silla, then later against silla, patron/donor of Longmen Grottoes

Cosmic/ Universal Buddha, Mahayana

a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko

Considered the founder of the Tendai (Chinese Tiantai) sect in Japan, visited China to search for Lotus Sutra materials and then returned to Japan to perform esoteric rituals for the emperor and the court

self-ordained monk, primarily interested in

esoteric practices, and lived in the mountains, studying texts and chanting mantras, before traveling to China