Download The Art of India - Groupfusion.net

The Art of India
Buddhist and Hindu Art
and Architecture
Development of
Buddhism in India
Religious practice in India is
complex
All Indian religions share features in
common and have flourished side by
side
Difficult to divide Indian art into
Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist which is
more typical of European thinking
We attempt to bring order and
understanding to a body of material
“without order”
We’ll organized it in an attempt to
better understand it
However, historical methodologies
are not inherent to cultural practices
of the Indian subcontinent
Giant Buddha statue in northeastern India.
The Buddha lived in India sometime
Between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE
Development of
Buddhism in India
Buddhism centers on the life and
teaching of the Buddha.
Born Siddhartha Gautama, the
Buddha lived in India sometime
between the six and fourth
centuries BCE
After his own personal
enlightenment her undertook the
role of teacher
Passed along his knowledge of
the path to spiritual awakening
to countless disciples and
followers
Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali, India, the location where Buddha is believed
To have preached his last sermon
Development of
Buddhism in India
Central goal of Buddhism is
attainment of Nirvana
A state of peace and liberation
from worldly suffering
Buddha taught the Dharma (law)
of the Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is suffering
2. The cause of suffering is
desire
3. Desire can be overcome
4. The way to conquer desire is
to follow the Eight-Fold Path
Buddha painting in Dambulla cave temple, Sri Lanka. The cave-temple
Complex was established as a Buddhist Monastery in the 3rd century BCE
Development of
Buddhism in India
The Path includes
• Right understanding
• Right thought
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right concentration
To follow this path and achieve
nirvana is to be free from the
endless cycle of painful life,
death, and rebirth (samsara)
Buddha painting in Dambulla cave temple, Sri Lanka. The cave-temple
Complex was established as a Buddhist Monastery in the 3rd century BCE
Development of Buddhism in India
• Many variations on Buddhist
beliefs and practices, but these
teachings are generally of
importance to all
• Buddhism flourished over the
course of its 2,500 year history
• It is the dominant religion in
countries such as Japan, Burma,
Sri Lanka, and much of mainland
Southeast Asia
• Buddhism developed in India
• Art and architecture survives
from early history – period in
which foundations were being
laid
• Early models had a lasting
influence on Buddhist art
throughout the world
Development of
Buddhism in India
First objects that can be identified as
connected to Buddhism are symbolic
pillars that date from the third century
BCE
Columns a continuation of an ancient
tradition in India – pillars with elaborate
Persian-inspired capitals that were built
and worshipped in the region long before
Buddhism
New version of the form took shape under
Emperor Ashoka (ruled 272-231 BCE)
who converted to Buddhism and spread
the faith
Interpretation is that the wheel signifies
motion and progress, the four lions
facing the four directions symbolize
limitless sovereignty, the lion itself
representing the power of State. The
lotus represents creative activity.
Development of
Buddhism in India
Emperor Ashoka also responsible for
distributing the Buddha’s ashes
throughout India
Had them interred in a series of 84,000
stupas across the country, one of which,
the Great Stupa, we will discuss in depth
Ashoka’s conversion and patronage of art
is central to the development of Buddhist
forms we know today
The stupa in Sri Lanka is a circular drum on a square base
with a long succession of compressed umbrellas forming a
conical top over a box-shaped harmika
The Ruwanweliseya stupa, (above) at Anuradhapura
(3rd century BC) is an example
Development of
Buddhism in India
Buddhism has evolved into a highly
complex faith with an elaborate artistic
culture
Various ‘reminders” have been
developed to make the narratives and
principles understandable to followers
Functional objects such as alms bowls
and reliquaries to hold ashes of the
Buddha or other important individuals,
canonical texts, statures, and paintings
have been created
Reliquary in the form of a Stupa
Gandhara, Pakistan
1st Century CE
Green Schist
Height: 18.5cm (7.25 inches)
Development of
Buddhism in India
Buddhist art has been created in a wide
variety of materials including bronze,
wood, clay, stone, and paint as well as
dry lacquer, palm leaves, birch bark,
embroidered silk, ivory, jade, gold, and
porcelain
Today, works are even shaped through
butter carving and sand painting
Sand painting Mandala is a representation of the universe.
It has three levels: outer, inner and sacred. It’s believed that
any one who participates or even witnesses the creation and
destruction of a mandala has been purified, uplifted, and
enlightened by the sacred energies of the spirits.
Development of
Buddhism in India
One of the most important reasons for
the wealth of Buddhist art is that lay
followers are granted merit (karma) for
donating to temples
Enormous numbers of books, images,
buildings and ritual implements were
created, often mass-produced, to meet
the demands of worshippers
Repetition is an emphasis in Buddhist
practice and art production
Temples with a thousand statues and
even dedications of a million small
votive figures are common
Votive offerings: Figures of Buddha covered with gold flakes
Development of
Buddhism in India
Scale of Buddhist objects ranges from tiny illuminated manuscripts to colossal statues and
monumental buildings with rival the pyramids in size
Most important objects or locations are connected to the Buddha himself such as his ashes,
his alms bowl, and his staff
Eight sites that were central to his life and ministry have become places of veneration,
including the location where he achieved enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and the site of his first
sermon at Sarnath
One of the most popular forms of veneration is the “footprint” of the Buddha
Often gigantic in size and adorned with a wealth of symbols, these markers note places where
he is believed to have stepped during one of his many lives
There are 108 symbols
by which the Buddha
can be recognized with
an enormous amount
of information stored
in the Buddha's
footprint.
Scholars have devoted
years to the study of
these symbols.
Development of
Buddhism in India
Buddhist architecture includes a variety of
building types such as stupas and pagodas for
worship, as well as elaborate facilities to support
monastic communities
Buddhist monasteries include libraries and
residence halls for monks and nuns, facilities for
group meditation and instruction, bell towers,
drum towers, image halls
Monasteries are connected to a broad network of
holy sites many of which developed out of the
Jatakas, stories which tell of events from the
previous lives of the Buddha
These tales led to an increase in the number of
pilgrimage sites, often with corresponding
monasteries and shrines
Bagan, Myanmar
13,000 Temples in the largest abandoned
religious complex in the world
Development of
Buddhism in India
An important evolution in Buddhism which had a significant impact on artistic production was the
development of its two main branches
About 500 years after the Buddha’s lifetime, Buddhist doctrine split when a new school developed
around the idea that salvation was possible for all, not just those who followed a strict, monastic path
Called Mahayana, it became distinct from the older approach now identified as Theravada
Both shared common goal of nirvana and an end to the cycle of birth/death/rebirth
Mahayana emphasized the belief the the mortal teacher of the Buddha was an earthly expression of his
spiritual being
This focus on a celestial Buddha was in contrast with the traditional emphasis on the human Buddha
and his role as a model of right behavior
The more devotional and esoteric version of Buddhism espoused by Mahayanas led to elaborate,
splendid, symbolic imagery rather than the Theravada’s meditative images of the Buddha’s life and
teaching.