Search Results (15)

In the 19th century, the British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham identified the remains of an unidentified Buddhist monastery at Jamāl Gaṛhī, an ancient site located approximately 13 km from present-day Mardān, Pakistan. Subsequent excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India between 1920 and 1921 unearthed a schist inscription dated to the year “359”. Heinrich Lüders, the renowned German Indologist and epigraphist, attributed this inscription to the Dharmaguptaka sect/school. Despite this early attribution, the Monastery’s precise sectarian characteristics have remained largely unexplored in later scholarship. This article reevaluates the site’s sectarian identity by employing a “ground-to-text” methodology that integrates archaeological evidence with textual analysis, with a particular focus on the Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. Through this comparative framework, this study seeks to elucidate the religious ideas reflected in the site’s material culture and their relationship with Dharmaguptaka disciplinary thought. The analysis encompasses the architectural remnants of the stūpa excavated by Cunningham and the “Fasting Buddha” statuary, now preserved in the National Museum of Pakistan, the British Museum, and other sites, situating these artifacts within the distinctive visual and contemplative traditions linked to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. By integrating architectural, sculptural, textual, and epigraphic materials, this article provides a nuanced understanding of sectarian developments at Jamāl Gaṛhī and argues that an explicit emphasis on the ‘Middle Way’ ideology constituted a defining feature of the Dharmaguptaka tradition during this period. Full article

Buddhist books have always played a central role in the lives of Tibetan people. This is evident by looking at the hundreds of thousands of manuscripts and xylographs produced by Tibetans, and then copied, multiplied, worshipped, spread, and transmitted uninterruptedly from religious masters to disciples over the centuries. Tibetan manuscripts and xylographs have started to be studied in their entirety only recently, and the interest for their visual aspect, material features, and social life has exponentially grown, becoming crucial to progress in different fields of study, to deeply understand the way in which Tibetan Buddhist people interact with such artefacts but also to preserve a disappearing cultural heritage. This essay will focus on a so far neglected element of Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts, namely, decorations of writing frames. Any element found in a Tibetan scripture is essential from care and conservation viewpoints since it contributes to preservation for as long as possible. This is fundamental to spread Buddha’s word and to accumulate spiritual merits to progress on the path towards Enlightenment. The numerous elements exhibited in manuscripts may help locating their provenance and/or narrowing down their dating. This will also lead to a better understanding of the spread of certain scriptures within the various Tibetan areas. This essay attempts to provide a preliminary analysis of decorated writing frames found in Buddhist manuscripts produced in different periods with the twofold aim of tracing their use and codicological aspects and investigating the type of texts that were mostly chosen to be decorated as such. Full article

Soon after the devastating Ansei Edo earthquake in 1855, popular prints known as catfish prints (namazu-e) circulated widely. These prints were rooted in the folk belief that a giant catfish beneath the earth caused earthquakes. Various types of catfish prints were published: some depicted a punished earthquake catfish and served as protective charms against future quakes, while others functioned as sharp social commentary. In the latter type, the catfish was portrayed as a popular deity capable of bringing favorable societal change for people in the lower social class, symbolizing hope for commoners through reduced economic disparities after the disaster. The print “Prodigal Buddha” positioned the catfish as an antihero, criticizing the Tokugawa government’s inefficacy and the failure of religious institutions to provide spiritual salvation. By juxtaposing the catfish—now a newly popular deity—with a thunder god, formerly a fearsome deity but now submissively obeying the catfish, the print effectively visualizes the shift in status between the two. This article examines the criticism directed at political and religious authorities in the aftermath of the disaster, analyzing the layered symbolism of the thunder gods in the print. Full article

The Huayan Grotto in Anyue County is one of the most typical caves of the grottoes of Sichuan 四川 and Chongqing 重慶. Being well known for its grand scale and the beautiful style of its sculptures, the cave was designed and carved by the Liu-Zhao sect 柳趙教派 in eastern Sichuan during the Southern Song Dynasty. The Liu-Zhao sect is a local religious group that relies on grottoes and statues to state concepts, propagate ideas, and spread doctrines. The sect is good at integrating a variety of Buddhist thoughts to form its own unique theoretical and practical system. The large-scale statue-making activities under the auspices of the Liu-Zhao sect 柳趙教派 are a classic example of the localization of Buddhism in Southwest China. The ideological system of the Liu-Zhao sect is centered on Huayan, and Huayan Grotto is the very concentration of its special philosophy. This paper considers that the cave constitutes a holy place, with a theme of thoughts of Huayan, which was built based on important doctrines of two masters. Through the combination and arrangement of diversified images, the cave is so far the most complex, complete, and systematic visualized representation of the Huayan’s theory and practice. Inside the cave are carved full-length portraits of Li Tongxuan 李通玄, the Elder of Huayan, and Guifeng Zongmi 圭峰宗密, the fifth patriarch of the Huayan sect. There are also statues and inscriptions that illustrate Li’s thoughts, such as the Ten Assemblies in Ten Locations 十處十會and the Sudhana’s Pilgrimage 善財遍參based on Li’s exegetical writings on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra; the Three Saints of the Huayan School (Huayan sansheng 華嚴三聖) carved on the basis of Li’s pioneering idea about the trinity of three saints; and the mind-only verse 惟心偈, emphasizing mind as the foundation of Avataṃsaka practice. Zongmi’s Avataṃsaka thoughts were mainly expounded through a series of commentaries on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment 大方廣圓覺修多羅了義經, to which the impressive Twelve Bodhisattvas of Perfect Enlightenment are directly related. In addition to the theoretical system, the cave offers two means for Avataṃsaka practice. Highly qualified Avataṃsaka practitioners practice by viewing the Trinity of Three Saints and the Buddha’s Light, and then they go through five phases of fruition to attain Buddhahood, which is the Avataṃsaka practice dominated by Li Tongxuan’s thoughts. Less qualified practitioners practice through repentance liturgies and sitting in meditation at the Ritual Site of Perfect Enlightenment, which is the practice of Perfect Enlightenment advocated by Zongmi 宗密. Full article

Pagodas and pavilions (ge 閣) are the most popular and representative multi-story buildings since Buddhism was introduced to China. While providing visitors with a new visual experience, they have also largely reshaped the urban space and skyline in medieval China. The former originated from India and Central Asia and was transformed in China, developing a unique style; The latter originated more from the creation of Chinese architects and became a model of typical Chinese-style Buddhist architecture. Briefly, the pagoda matured earlier than the pavilion, and continuously developed while maintaining its basic style; the pavilion-style Buddhist architecture gradually developed later and finally matured after the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1276), partially presenting a different spatial logic from the pagoda, and bringing a new visual experience. In my opinion, although the pavilion may not necessarily be as large as the pagoda in terms of volume and absolute height, it can provide believers with greater visual impact in the internal space for worship, due to the cross-story giant Buddhist statues; the closer integration of Buddha statues and architecture makes it replace or share the core position of the pagoda in some monasteries and even become the visual center of the entire religious space. Due to the existence of the pavilion, viewers can not only worship the Buddhist statues on a two-dimensional plane or by looking up at the statues from the bottom, but have also gained a three-dimensional perspective, to worship directly at the Buddha’s shoulders, neck, and head. In the Buddhist grottoes, the layout of the early single-layer or multi-layer horizontally distribution of caves on cliff was also changed due to the excavation of the cross-layer giant statue grottoes, covered by multi-story pavilion-style buildings, providing viewers with a visual experience similar to that of the pavilions of great statues. Additionally, there is a new visual experience of worshiping the Buddha in a vertical circle, in cases such as Bamiyan and the Leshan Giant Buddha. Full article

Artifacts pertaining to Buddhist culture are often studied in relation to their circulation from India throughout the rest of Asia; however, many traveled to Europe during the last few centuries as trade commodities and pieces for the art market, losing any devotional purpose in favor of a specific aesthetic sensitivity that was typically adapted to Western taste to appeal to collectors. This article presents a technical study of seven polychrome wooden sculptures from the Museo d’Arte Orientale (MAO) in Turin, Italy. Originally from China, these objects are generally attributed to the late Ming–early Qing dynasties (16th–18th centuries) based merely on stylistic and iconographic considerations. Scientific analysis sought to expand the available knowledge on their constituting materials and fabrication techniques, to address questions on their authenticity, to assess their state of preservation, and to trace the history of transformations they have undergone while transitioning from devotional objects to private collection and museum artwork. By delving into the sculptures’ intricate paint stratigraphy, the results were also key to guiding treatment choices. The outcomes of this study were featured in the MAO exhibition “Buddha10. A Fragmented Display on Buddhist Visual Evolution” (October 2022–September 2023). Full article

Since the appearance of Buddha, texts and images depicting his life have circulated across Eurasia, serving as significant mediums for disseminating Buddhist ideology. Japan has historically been influenced by the canon of Chinese Buddhism while concurrently striving to promote the indigenization of Buddhism. This endeavor reached its peak during the Edo period, notably exemplified in the Shaka goichidaiki zue, illustrated by the world-renowned artist Hokusai Katsushika. Originating from Buddhist believers, it presents an adaptation based on the socio-historical context of pre-modern Japan, particularly manifesting evident shifts in emphasizing royal authority, the salvation of females, and ethical relationships. Entering the Meiji era, this pre-modern illustrated manuscript underwent repeated printing, playing an important role in the modernization of Buddhism. Full article

Tejaprabhā Buddha is the lord of the constellations and one of the most significant esoteric deities. Its image occurs in a number of Chinese visual presentations dating from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. The cult of Tejaprabhā was also disseminated to Korea and Japan and spawned related local visual creations. Tejaprabhā Buddha and his followers do not belong to the core group of Buddhist deities but are instead connected to the Daoist deities. This was most likely due to the fact that asterism held a greater significance to Daoists, for whom it was the most important of all the power sources derived from the cosmos. The focus of this study is on unearthing the Daoist astrological influences in the visual presentation and its adaptation of Tejaprabhā Buddha and the accompanied luminary deities in China. The cult of constellations and Tejaprabhā in the context of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was constantly evolving under the influence of Daoism, gleaned by examining and comparing the quantity and visual variations of luminaries in the artworks of Tejaprabhā of different periods. Full article

As an Indian artist working in the field of cross-cultural visual theology, I have taken the open well as a common feature of the landscape where I live as a motif that I can connect with the biblical story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. This leads to a discussion around the symbolic significance of the water of life. The landscape provides natural elements that are both particular and local but also universal in their cultural significance. The meeting between the thirsty traveler, who is Christ the teacher, and a socially marginalized woman who comes to draw water in the midday heat provides the occasion for a dialogue in the context of asking for water. There is a similar story in the Buddhist tradition where Ananda, the disciple of Buddha, meets with an ‘outcaste’ woman at a well. Water, which is always found at a lowly place, becomes a symbol for the socially depressed. What is below must be lifted if the living water is to renew and transform the searcher. The encounter at the well can become the basis for a dialogue between religions concerning the need for social inclusion. Full article

In this paper, I would firstly like to supplement my observations and the materials used in the earlier paper “The aśubhā Meditation in the Sarvāstivāda”. I shall remark on the authenticity of the suicide tradition, and show further how the aśubhā meditation continued to be recommended in all the Buddhist traditions. A major concern of my discussion will focus on the Buddhist traditional understanding of the meditative transition from the experience of the impure to that of the pure. In the context of this developmental process, I shall further attempt to demonstrate that: along this traditional understanding, Mahāyānistic and even Tantric elements came to be interfused with the traditional—especially Abhidharma—meditative doctrines in the milieu of an increasing interest relating to buddha-visualization. Full article

This essay reconsiders the iconography of the group of paintings from Dunhuang commonly referred to as “itinerant monk paintings.” In an effort to acknowledge the paintings as a tradition unto themselves and highlight their visual language, this study focuses on the issues surrounding Baosheng Buddha and the unique feature of depicting the main icon in motion. The first matter is discussed in relation to the religious and artistic contexts of the inscriptions preserved in some paintings, and possible changes in the main figure’s identity from a monk worshiping Baosheng Buddha to the incarnation itself. The main icon’s mobile nature is examined in terms of its walking posture and cloud vehicle. Considering the tradition of xingdao seng or xing seng (walking monks) in monastery murals, this paper illuminates a growing interest in the Tang (618–907) period in portraying walking monks that underscores their position and role in the world of sentient beings. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the cloud vehicle played a critical role in underlining the main icon’s extensive and rapid travel to facilitate his encounter with and saving of sentient beings. Full article

For more than a millennium, Burmese donors sponsored elaborately decorated structures to publicize their allegiance to the Buddha’s Dhamma in its Pali version, illuminating their understanding of the human predicament. The structures always featured décor informed by revered texts, the Buddha’s words or Buddhavacana and its elaborators, that in the context of the biography of Gotama Buddha writ large, recalled numerous sub-chapters en route to Awakening. Throughout that immensely long timeframe, conceptions of retribution, recalling sojourns in various hells or heavenly mansions, remained constant. Their interpretation, however, moved with the times, reflecting the ever-shifting components of the Gotama saga designed to meet changing circumstances. The article explains why and how these two subjects sustained their influence, how their meanings changed, and how their visual interpretation reflected contemporaries’ grasp of the future. The core argument asserts that behind the images was a socializing conditioning mechanism revealing this setting’s ideational substructure. That substructure’s lineaments exploited psychological and physiological assumptions regarding how humans functioned, harnessing emotions evoked by stories and images and utilizing fear as a form of societal control. The aim was to create what throughout Burmese history were called “the good people”—ideal subjects for a dhamma-governed society. Full article

This article examines how the literary evidence corroborates with the visual evidence for the unusual presence of Brahmā with the Buddha at the Ajapāla banyan tree of the goatherd symbolizing the Fifth of the Seven Weeks after the Enlightenment of the Buddha in the paintings of the recessed chamber in the east corridor of the Sulamani temple in Bagan in Burma. The presence of Brahmā at the Ajapāla banyan tree is puzzling, because most of the mural paintings in Burma and Sri Lanka follow the chronological order given in the Nidānakathā, and, as a result, the intervention of Brahmā pleading with the Buddha to reconsider his decision not to expound the doctrine takes place in the Eighth Week. The painting of the encounter of Brahmā and the Buddha at the banyan tree in the Sulamani temple in the Fifth Week is thus a notable exception. It is argued that the visual artist of the Sulamani temple who introduced Brahmā in an earlier than normal context knew the narratives in the Pāli Mahāvagga and in the Nidānakathā well and, to shorten a long story, selected quite wisely the Ajapāla banyan tree of the goatherd where both events took place, meaning the Fifth and Eighth Weeks. Full article

This paper begins with an examination of early Indian speculation about colors, their number, their use, and their significance. It ranges widely from the Upaniṣads to the Nāṭyaśāstra, from Śvetāmbara Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa’s treatise on meditation, the Visuddhimagga, from purāṇas to technical treatises on painting. It turns then to examine how select Jain and Buddhist texts used color in two important scenarios, descriptions of the setting for events and the person of the Jina/Buddha. In the concluding reflections, I compare textual practices with a few examples from the visual record to ask what role if any the colors specified in a story might have played in the choices made by an artist. Full article

The interpretation of early Buddha images with a crown has long been a source of debate. Many scholars have concluded that the iconography of the crown is intended to denote Śākyamuni as a cakravartin or universal Buddha. A few have suggested it represents a sambhogakāya Buddha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. This art historical and Buddhological study examines the visual record of early crowned Buddhas along the Silk Road, focusing on the iconographic signifiers of the crown, silk items, and ornaments, and interprets them within a broader framework of Buddhist theoretical principals and practice. Not only is this a visual analysis of iconography, it also considers contemporary Buddhist literary evidence that shows the development of the iconography and ideology of the crowned Buddha. As a result of this examination, I propose that the recurring iconographic evidence and the textual evidence underscore the intention to depict a form of sambhogakāya Buddha as an early esoteric meditational construct. Moreover, many Buddhas perform one of the two mudrās that are particular to the esoteric form of Vairocana Buddha. Therefore, the iconography also signifies the ideology of the archetypal Ādi Buddha as an esoteric conception. Full article