Download the medium and the message

“THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE”
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING BUDDHIST
SCULPTURE IN VARYING MATERIALS
This lesson is designed for a High School Asian Studies class that is studying Buddhist
art in China and Japan.
Purpose
Students will look at Chinese and Japanese sacred sculpture and explore the different
materials artists used to portray the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. How does the medium
used (i.e., stone, metal, wood, lacquer) determine the message delivered by the artwork?
Concepts
• Sculpture: an art in three dimensions
• Realism in art: the depiction of human figures as they appear, without any
distortion or stylization
• Abstraction in art: art that does not imitate or directly represent external realities
• Cultural diffusion: when distinct traits or religions of one culture become a part of
another culture. The concept of cultural diffusion is common throughout the
world; in most cases diffusion occurs at a gradual pace through cultural, political,
and economic influences. In Asia, Buddhism spread from India to China around
the first century CE and later to the Korean Peninsula, and ultimately to Japan.
Key Ideas
• Buddhism was a powerful unifying force that transcended geographic, ethnic, and
linguistic boundaries. As it spread, it absorbed many of the cultural elements with
which it came into contact.
• The representation of Buddha and Bodhisattvas (spiritually perfected humans) is a
fundamental expression of Buddhist thought, so Buddhism served as a powerful
stimulus for artistic creation.
• The enlightened status of Buddha is visually portrayed through specific attributes
and distinguishing marks, as well as specific hand gestures (mudras), which are
designed to convey a message to the viewer.
o A bump or protuberance on the skull (wisdom)
o A tuft of hair or jewel between the eyes (enlightenment)
o Extended earlobes (princely status; rejection of materialism)
•
o Three folds in the neck (auspiciousness)
o Monk's clothing (leads an ascetic life)
o Hand gestures (mudras that signify different concepts: such as fear not,
wish-granting, knowledge, victory over temptation)
o Sitting on lotus platform (purity)
Questions to consider when analyzing a sculptural work of art:
o What is the subject and what does it represent?
o What was the purpose and function of the statue?
o What kind of belief does it embody?
o How does it express this belief?
o What material is the statue made of?
o Has this material been used effectively?
o Is the statue primarily rounded or angular?
o Is there a lot of detail or is the form simplified?
o Is the image individualized or abstracted?
o How does the style relate to the original function of the image?
Materials
Chinese
Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, 371-581, CMA 1914.567 [limestone]
Seated Amitayus Buddha, 317-581, CMA 1915.334.1-.2 [marble]
Sakyamuni Buddha, 581-618, CMA 1964.152 [limestone]
Bodhisattva, 750-850, CMA 1983.86 [hollow lacquer with traces of pigment and cut gold]
Japanese
Buddha of the Future (Maitreya), Japan 600-710), CMA 1950.86 [cast bronze]
Seated Shaka, Japan c.900, CMA 1986.7 [wood with lacquer and traces of paint]
Amida Buddha, 1269, CMA 1960.197 [wood with cut gold leaf and polychrome]
A Preaching Buddha, 8th century, CMA 1985.87 [bronze with traces of gilt]
Procedure
1. Show students the image of the cast-bronze Maitreya and explain that Buddhists
believe there are there are a number of different Buddhas, in addition to the
historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. The Buddha of the Future, seen here, is thought
by devout believers to be the Buddha who will appear at the end of the world to
offer salvation. Have students look at the image carefully to see how the figure is
depicted. [Projecting an air of serenity and compassion, Maitreya is shown here in
a pensive, relaxed pose with the right leg crossed over the hanging left one. His
right elbow casually leans against the bent leg, with the tips of the fingers of the
right hand just touching the chin. He appears to be accessible to all who
approach.]
2. Ask students to make a list of the attributes and distinguishing characteristics that
they see [Maitreya is not wearing the clothing of a monk and does not have the
head protuberance or the mark between the eyes] How is Maitreya dressed?
[Maitreya is dressed as a worldly prince. He is wearing a high tripartite headdress
with triangular points on which are inscribed his emblem, the stupa (a mound or
dome-shaped structure serving as a Buddhist shrine). He wears rich necklaces and
other jewelry and has on a flowing skirt-like garment.]
3. Explain to students that by looking carefully at the face and garments of this
statue, a viewer immediately knows that this is Maitreya depicted as a
bodhisattva, an individual who is capable of achieving enlightenment but who
voluntarily stays on earth to help other people achieve spiritual perfection.
4. Divide students into small groups and either assign or let each group pick out one
of the images above to research. Give each group a photocopy of their chosen
object, then have them research the properties of the material the sculptor (or
sculptors) chose and the methods used. Then have them write a presentation
answering as many of the questions posed above as they can apply to their object.
5. Have each group pick a spokesperson to share with the class their interpretation of
their statue. Project a slide image of each work as it is being discussed. When the
presentations are completed, initiate a class discussion as to how the material the
sculptor used determined how he portrayed his subject. Make a list of the ideas
and use it as an introduction to a class book featuring the individual presentations.
Enrichment Activities
A. Arrange a field trip to a local Buddhist temple or invite a practicing Buddhist to
be a guest speaker in the classroom.
B. Ask students if they know any one their age who is a practicing Buddhist and
might be willing to speak to the class.
C. Online distance learning activity on Buddhism through the Cleveland Museum of
Art (technology permitting/funding permitting)
Ohio State Standards: Relationship to State Model Curricula
History Standard
Students use materials drawn from the diversity of human experience to analyze
and interpret significant events, patterns and themes in the history of Ohio, the
United States, and the world.
People in Societies
Students use knowledge of perspectives, practices, and products of cultural,
ethnic, and social groups to analyze the impact of their commonality and diversity
within local, national, regional, and global settings.
Grades 9 – 10: Benchmark A
Analyze the influence of different cultural perspectives on the actions of groups.
Geography Standard
Students use knowledge of geographic locations, patterns, and processes to show
the relationship between the physical environment and human activity, and to
explain the interactions that occur in an increasingly independent world.
Grades 11 – 12: Benchmark A
Explain how the character and meaning of a place reflect a society’s economics,
politics, social values, ideology, and culture.
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Students collect, organize, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple
sources to draw logical conclusions. Students communicate this information
using appropriate social studies technology in oral, written, and multimedia form
and apply what they have learned to societal issues in simulated or real-world
settings.
This lesson plan was developed by Ken Lee, Westerville School System, Westerville,
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON BUDDHISM
The founder of Buddhism was an Indian price named Siddhartha Gautama, who
was born in what is now Nepal in about BCE 563. Before his birth it was prophesied he
would either be a great ruler or a great religious thinker. His father, to ensure the
succession of his throne, deliberately shielded Gautama from contact with the realities of
everyday life beyond the palace gates. Siddhartha managed forays into the outside world
where he saw human suffering for the first time—namely, poverty, sickness, old age, and
death. Deeply disturbed by what he saw, he renounced his family and his privileged life
to become a wandering monk searching for the cause of so much suffering.
What he sought was an explanation for the mystery of existence and a way of
release from the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that all humans must undergo
according to the laws of karma, the law of cause and effect. Karma determines the
conditions of a person's current life based on his or her actions in previous lives. It is only
by breaking this cycle that an individual can be relieved from the world of suffering,
impermanence, and death (samsara) and achieve nirvana (satori). After many years and
attempting many different regimes, through meditation, Gautama finally attained a
profound understanding of the nature of reality, or Enlightenment, becoming the Buddha.
He spent the rest of his life teaching what he had learned until his death at the age of 80.
Buddha taught that if one is to transcend the human cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth, the cause of all human suffering, one must understand the Four Noble Truths,
which became the basis of the Buddhist philosophy:
o Life entails suffering.
o Suffering is cause by human vanity and human attachments.
o One can be liberated from suffering through the cessation of attachments.
o This can be done by leading a disciplined, moral life and by meditating.
A second important part of Buddhist teaching was the concept of the Middle
Way; an individual must find the mean between the extremes of self-indulgence and selfdenial. This is called the Eightfold Path of right understanding, right purpose, right
speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness, and right
concentration. A person who follows this path faithfully will attain nirvana, the freedom
from domination by greed, hatred, and illusion. The attainment of nirvana can take many
lifetimes. Some individuals, called Bodhisattvas ("beings of wisdom"), have the capacity
to attain nirvana but choose to remain on earth to help other people achieve
enlightenment.
Buddhism spread rapidly and after several centuries split doctrinally into two
sects. In Theravada Buddhism the belief is that spiritual awakening was possible only if
one gave up the ordinary life and became a monk or a nun. The other sect, known as
Mahayana Buddhism, emphasized the possibility of universal Enlightenment without
abandoning life in the secular world. Siddhartha Gautama never made any claims of
divinity for himself. But even during his lifetime, Gautama was worshiped as a deity by
his followers, who considered him to be the final Buddha in a series of earlier Buddhas.
In Mahayana Buddhism a concept developed that more Buddhas would appear on earth
in the future, particularly Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, whose coming was foretold
by the historical Buddha, and whose teaching would purify the world.
BUDDHISM IN ART
Nearly all Chinese religious artworks were created by anonymous artists. Chinese
sculpture became closely associated with Buddhism, which was introduced into China in
the first century CE. The earliest Buddhist sculptures were monumental, frontal statues
made of stone, bronze, gilded bronze, wood, and pottery (ceramics), which were not
meant to be seen in the round. Wood and clay figures often were decorated with paint
lacquer or gilt. Most Buddhist sculptures portrayed the founder of the religion Siddhartha
Gautama, the historical Buddha, together with his disciples.
In a Buddhist temple a beautifully decorated sculpture of the Buddha, most often
made of gilded bronze or wood, is placed on a table or throne in the main hall near an
altar holding utensils for religious rituals. Sculptures of attendant deities are placed to the
right and left of the main deity. During the sixth century Chinese sculptors began making
freestanding, three-dimensional sculptures of the Buddha out of stone or marble and
within a century or two they had turned to creating monumental bronze statues. These no
longer exist, but their style has been preserved in statues found elsewhere in Asia. They
also made sculptures from clay or from wood that was covered with paint or lacquer.
Because wood is perishable few of these wood sculptures created before the Tang
dynasty (618-907 have survived. By late in the Tang sculptors were able to produce large
Buddha figures made of several parts held together with mortar and tenon joints. These
were then covered with a thin layer of plaster or gesso and painted or lacquered,
sometimes with gold accents. During this period, Buddhist sculpture became more
delicate and graceful, typically using the tribhanga pose, a curved body with one hip
thrust out to the side. This is a direct descendant of the Hellenic style of sculpture
introduced into Asia originally by Alexander the Great. (See CMA 1972.43 Standing
Sakyamuni from Gandhara in Pakistan, dating from the second half of the 2nd century.)
Buddhism came under attack by the Chinese government in the mid-9th century.
Monasteries were closed, their artworks destroyed, and monks and nuns forced to leave.
While Buddhism continued to be practiced in China, it no longer was the dominant
impetus for artistic creation, and the importance of Buddhist sculpture declined as the
religion lost ground.
The Buddhist religion was introduced from China into Japan, where many
beautiful sculptures in the style of early Chinese Buddhism have been preserved. But as
in everything else the Japanese adopted from abroad they changed it and made it their
own, creating one of the great traditions of religious sculpture.
In the 11th century, Japan sculptors developed a unique sculptural form enabling
them to create massive wooden religious statues in relatively short time periods and also
somewhat solving the problem of the wood drying and cracking with age. Up to this time
wooden sculptures had been created from a single block with only a few appendages
added. The new method was the multiple-block, or joined-wood, technique in which each
section was carved separately and then joined together. Statues could now be created on
what is almost an assembly-line technique, with various carvers specializing in different
parts of the body.