Buddhist Art

Context

Buddhism originated in India (563-483 BCE) with Siddhartha Gautama, who was an Indian prince that renounced his wealth upon witnessing human suffering.  He created the "Middle Way" between extreme asceticism and extreme wealth.  Buddhism also promoted meditation to achieve enlightenment or "Nirvana" under the Bodhi tree.  Buddhists believe in rebirth based in karma.  

There are two types of Buddhism: 

• Mahayan (Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mongolia) that emphasizes bodhisattvas. 

• Theravada (Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar) that emphasizes monastic lifestyle.

Still practiced today as the dominant religion of Southeast Asia, Buddhism is a spiritual force that teaches individuals how to cope in a world full of misery.  The central figure, Buddha (563-483 BCE), who is not a god, rejected the worldly concerns of life at a royal court, and sought fulfillment traveling the countryside and living as an ascetic.

In Buddhism, life is believed to be full of suffering that is compounded by an endless cycle of birth and rebirth.  The aim of every Buddhist is to end this cycle and achieve oneness with the supreme spirit, which involves a final release or extinguishing of the soul.  This can only happen by accumulating spiritual merit through devotion to good works, charity, love of all beings, and religious fervor.  

While the image of Buddha was produced over thousands of years and across thousands of miles, there is surprising uniformity in their depictions:

• Compact pose with little negative space

• Often seated, although could be standing or lying down on occasion

• When seated, Buddha is in the lotus position with the balls of his feet turned straight up and a wheel marking the soulsof the feet prominently displayed

• Generally frontal and symmetrical and will have a nimbus (halo) around their heads

• Helpers (bodhisattvas) are usually near the Buddha and sometimes attached to the nimbus

• Most Buddha's have a detached, removed quality that suggests meditation

• Buddhas' actions and feelings are revealed by hand gestures (mudras)

• Buddha has a top knot (ushnisha) and the hair has a series of tight-fitting curls

• Extremely long ears dangle to almost his shoulders

• Curl of hair called an urna appears between his brows

• Lack of jewelry demonstrates his rejection of courtly life

• Beneath the statue is a predella (base) which can include donor figures and may have an illsutration of one of his teachings or a story from his life

• Depicts distinctive figures called yakshas (males) and yakshis (females) which are nature spirits that appear frequently in Indian popular religion.

BODHISATTVA - A person (sattva) in pursuit of awakening (bodhi) to become a buddha.

BUDDHA - One who has attained Bodhi (wisdom and ideal state of intellectual/ethical perfection achieved by man).

STUPA - A mound-like structure containing relics and is used as a place for meditation connected to Buddhism.

YAKSHI - Auspicious female nature spirits and symbol of fertility and abundance.  Portrayed as beautiful and voluptuous.  

NIRVANA - A transcendent state with no suffering, desire, no sense of self, and the subject is released from reincarnation.  Synonymous with paradise.

URNA - A spiral or dot placed on forehead of Buddhist images. Symbolized Third Eye and maintains vision into the divine world.

USHNISHA - 3D oval at the top of the head of Buddha.  Indicates wisdom.

VAIROCANA - The "Illuminator".  The Supreme Buddha from where all other buddhas originate.

SHAKYAMUNI - Epithet applied to Gautama Buddha.  "Sage of the Shakyas".  Shows the moment of Enlightenment.