Ferry Erdmann: "Buddha Image Project 2017"

100 Buddha Images Project                                                    2017

Ferry Erdmann                                                                                                                          Beyond                 

This "100 Buddha Images Project" shows a lot of buddha images.
At first, I thought a hundred would be a nice figure, then, I thought the auspicious number of 108 would suffice, but finally, I decided to continue because I keep finding more images which are interesting, curious or funny.

I started the project more or less as a joke, or at least as a humorous twist to show on Facebook some buddha images which I thought funny, although - and admittedly also because - they are a bit blasphemic, and they defy the differentiation between "idolatry", art, commerce and kitsch. After publishing the first ones, an old Nepali friend reacted: "But Ferry, you have been fascinated by buddhism for the largest part of your life and travelled so much in buddhist countries, you must have hundreds of pictures of buddha images, please show us one each day." I was hesitant, because I had in mind to present only the funny ones now and then, but then I started realizing that as a "buddhologist" it might be informative and instructive to show (off) a bit more. Besides, from a buddhist point of view (which is not entirely mine), it is very meritorious work, good for my karma and even the karma of those who watch the pictures and all the more for those who "like" them. Many pictures I took myself, but there is also quite a number I copied from books and from the internet, and some I received from friends and acquaintances. Anyhow, I am now posting all these images day by day, and receive all kinds of reactions. It is no surprise that people want to know what the images mean or where they are from, how old they are and why I selected them. Some of my friends started guessing and see the presentation as a quiz. There are many kinds of mental quests.
The buddha image can be seen as the example of absolute spirituality or wisdom, as a symbol of peace, compassion and kindness, but also as just an object of which there are many and definitely many interesting kinds.

In selecting the series, I found myself working according to some categorial criteria. First, there were the funny ones, second there are the famous, third there are bodhisattva's, then the characteristic and instructive per country and per type of art and finally, the simply beautiful, and so on. Important is that I not only included the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, but also dhyani or meditation buddha's (tathagatha's or jina's), such as Vairocana and Amitabha. Moreover, the future buddha Maitreya is included as well as other bodhisattvas. The important bodhisattva (let us say: "almost buddha") images are imaginary, celestial and ideal figures in mahayana buddhism, objects of visualization as well as expressions of the buddhist virtues. Apart from Shakyamuni, the series does not include any other historical holy persons, such as arhats, great "enlightened" teachers, monks, patriarchs, hiërarchs, scholars and "incarnates". I left all of these out of this series. What I did want, is to show some of the historical and regional and stylistic developments and the several arts and materials used to create the images, and even the different sizes and proportions. I also think it is interesting what the images are used for. Is it a religious, spiritual, ethical or political purpose, a powerful symbol, a silent protest, or just decoration, a collector's item, a trade commodity etc.?

<Elsewhere in this https://ferryerdmann.blogspot.com, you may find Ferry Erdmann: article The Buddha Image. This could serve as a more thorough historical and conceptual introduction to the photo series. In case you become lost in terminology, there will be a glossary under: Ferry Erdmann: glossary of Buddhist terms used. (Both spots under construction at present)>

Hereunder, the images are presented and divided into categories. Of course, entirely in accordance with buddhist ideas, they do not really fit in these categories and some images belong to several of them. Nevertheless, a certain degree of systematization seemed useful. Furthermore, they are numbered and labeled with a short informative description. 

 

 

 

 

A. Funny  

This first part of the show is intended to take buddhism with a grain of salt. A certain eagerness for joking and benign humour is exemplified in several buddhist traditions, such as Zen and the Tibetan Kagyudpa school with its divine madmen, crazy teachers. After all, love of nature, spontanaity and unconventional joking can be very liberating and eye-opening. It is especially in this catogory that the industrially produced and modern "home, garden and kitchen" buddha's are shown. They may be considered kitsch, but I don't think it justified to neglect them. Instead of veneration of the enlightenment ideal, I think the prime motivation for people to buy these buddha's is that they symbolize peace and love of nature, which especially in these days of terrorism (in the name of religion) and destruction of nature and even the atmosphere, is not unreasonable.

A1. Standing buddha, dark natural stone, 3m, Gupta style (4th-9th century). Location: Svayembhunath, Kathmandu. Monkey seated comfortably on his ushnisha. The ushnisha, the Buddha's 'cranial protuberance', which may be a swelling, a topknot of hair, a flame or a pointed spire, is one of the 32 marks showing that he is a 'superman' (mahapurusha).

A2. Minuscule brass buddha, produced for tourist industry. Location: Bhaktapur, Nepal. The big baby next to him may symbolize all sentient beings being born with the buddha nature (buddhadhatu). By means of the bhumisparsha mudra (earth touching handpose) the buddha calls the earthgodess as a witness of his perseverence to reach enlightenment, which they say he did in Bodh Gaya, India (see: B2)

A3. Small buddha held by a bigger one. Gold painted stucco. Location: South Thailand. Symbolic meaning: the continuity of buddhahood.

A4. "Street garden buddha" with added headdress next to a garden gnome. Location: 3e Oosterparkstraat in Amsterdam. In western countries these days buddha's are a popular decoration in gardens, on window sills and even in toilets (see: A17,19,21, 22, 26). They are generally mass produced sold in garden centres and department stores (see: A23, 24 and 26).To my idea ('hypothesis') this is not so much a matter of religious devotion as a statement of non-violence in days of terrorism.
In picture A13 below, this statement is made more explicitly.  

A5. One of the dhyani buddha's. Natural stone. .. c? Location: Kirtipur, Nepal. An enlightened one does of course not care to be shit on by an unmannered pigeon. The dhyani or meditation buddha's are five in number and located in the 4 cardinal directions of the compass plus in the center: Akshobhya, Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi are often shown in a mandala, a symmetrical composition of geometric figures and images, used as a focus and support of sadhana (visualizing meditation)

A6. Bodhisattva. Sandstone. Location: Sukothai, Thailand. Most probably this is Avalokiteshvara and his ancient headdress contains an Amitabha buddha figure in the front. This however, is hidden by the pinkish lace hippy headband donated by a modern devotee together with the dress. The bodhisattva or 'enlightenment being' is a person intent on enlightenment, an 'almost buddha' or 'buddha to be'. In mahayana buddhism the bodhisattva is the highest ideal; he vows not to enter nirvana but to stay reincarnating in this world of suffering and teach the dharma (religion) until the enlightenment of all sentient beings is a fact. Although Thai buddhism is pretty exclusively of the old theravada type, the presence of an occasional bodhisattva shows that in the past there have been other influences as well, before the 13th century from India and later from China.   

A7. Electrically illuminated panel in the front of a Sri Lankan bus, with the Buddha in the middle of six hindu deities. After all, among hindus the Buddha is considered to be the ninth incarnation of Vishnu and a great protector (even of reckless  bus drivers).

A8. "Primitive" gilded stone relief of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Location: Central Tibet. The bodhisattva's handpose with the palm towards us is the gesture of giving (dana), one of the major virtues in buddhism. And see, all those gifts! The silver objects are parts of a ritual conchshell trumpet.

A9. Famous stone buddha head. 15 century. Location: Ayutthaya, Thailand. Separate buddha heads are either the result of destruction of a complete image (see: E3, E4), or produced for the modern tourist souvenir or decorative art industry (see: A25, 26) . Obviously, this one must have been severed from his body long ago. Ayutthaya was sacked by Burmese troups in the 18th century.

A10. "Childlike" stucco buddha. 70cm high. Location: South Thailand. Casually ornamented by a celebration ribbon, gold plaque offerings and some threads.

A11. Laotse, Confucius and Buddha. Chinese painted Scroll, Ming period 15-17th century. Location: Shanghai museum. Lautze and Confucius, representing the older Chinese types of religion, tenderly hold the baby Buddha, whose dharma at the time was a new introduction in the far east. The scroll must be a sort of propaganda of national tollerance. Although considered to be the 3rd religion of China, there have been periods of severe conflicts and even persecutions involving buddhism.See also: D15.

A12. Decaying stucco buddha in a neglected garden. Location: Bago Myanmar. In some places there seem to be too many images to maintain them all.

A13. Buddha painting with Japanese handpose and a bitterly ironic political message. Location: Hemonylaan, Amsterdam. It was reacted upon by a friend: "He is right, it would become such a mess". In the modern fashion of decorative buddha's, the statement of non-violence is made explicitly here. Indeed, ahimsa (non-violence) is fundamental in buddhist morality. (This image was brought to my attention by Eva van Dijk)

                                                 

A14. Buddha controling the traffic on top of a tuk tuk. Location: Galle, Sri Lanka. In fact the abhaya mudra means: 'fear not' (by following the buddha dharma you are protected.)

A15. Modern buddha production site. Location: Mandalay Myanmar. There really is no harm in taking a buddha by the nose.

A16. Buddha's and "targets". Location: temple of the tooth (Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Note the spire-like ushnisha of the central buddha. The use of elephant teeth (on the side walls) as a fortuitous offering predates the ban on ivory. Elephants like lions in Asian cultures are considered royal symbols (see also: B1, E1) and the buddha is considered a 'universal monarch'. The main object in the temple of the tooth however, is a tooth relic, believed to be of the historic Buddha himself, which is once a year, during the 20 days Perahera summer festival, carried around the former Sri Lankan capital on the back of a temple elephant.

A17. Liberated behind the fence. This Buddha poster was recently put in the garden by my neighbour, which by definition makes it a garden buddha. 

A18. Buddha drowned. Ming period 14-17e eeuw. Found emerging during hydropower restauration works in 2017. Location: Hongmen river reservoir, Fuzhou, Jiangxi prov. China. The picture is from a Chinese newspaper.

A19. This decorative Buddha is in a local health food store in Amsterdam.

A20. Buddha crippled. Stone. 7-8th century. Life size. Location: Anuradhapura museum, Sri Lanka

A21. Buddha as toilet decoration in a café in Naarden NL.

22. Garden buddha in good company, note esp. the watchdog in the front. Location: my neighbourhood in Amsterdam.

A23. Another mass produced buddha. We don't distinguish between art and kitsch here, but this standing figure, for sale in the Xenos department store in Amsterdam at a very competing price, almost crosses the line. No wonder that the white buddhas on the other shelf almost laugh their heads off not realizing they are in the same category (see however: A30 below).

A24. Buddha fountain with lamp. Another industrial garden buddha. Price: E 189,-. Amsterdam Praxis store.

A25. Buddha heads and other garden ornaments. Price E 16.95 a piece. Amsterdam Action store.

A26. Buddha head at Castricum aan Zee beach restaurant, NL

A27. Buddha with orchid in his lap. Now at Albert Heijn supermarket in Amsterdam. For a special sale price of E 5,- And don't forget: to be used before 30-04-2017 for decoration, not for consumption!

A28. "Buddha meets Disney" in Darling Harbour, Sidney Australia. This Disney-like buddha came to enlighten a Darling Harbour festival in january 2017. The picture was brought to my attention by Heinz Franken.

A29.Bodhisattva? supporting plant life. Location: Tokio Nezu museumgarden. Picture brought to my attention by Heinz Franken.

A30. Stone art in the public space of Amsterdam. On a bridge between Damstraat and Oude Doelenstraat this is one of a series of 4 images by artist Martie van der Loo. The original ones, a series of five or six, were placed on several other bridges and date from 1986. The work was called: "Wandelen naar de Nieuwmarkt" (Walking to Nieuwmarkt), and consisted of legless images in brick with Asian faces. The likeness with buddha's is because of their elongated ears, but may be unintended.  The five images were severely vandalized and finally removed. In 2010, Ms Van der Loo redid four of them more robustly between granite columns, and these we find collected on their present location.

A31. Another political boeddha image, a cartoon by Bas van der Schot in the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, commenting on the on-going persecution of Rohinga by local buddhists and the armed forces of Myanmar. Rohinga are a Bengali speaking muslim minority (about 800.000) in predominantly buddhist Myanmar, who are litterally forced to flee to  Bangladesh. Although these actions are not in the name of buddhism, they are silently supported by the buddhist majority, including head of state Aung San Suu Kyi. Among the opposition protests are uttered, but surprisingly enough not by their former heroin  Aung San Suu Kyi.
What must not remain unsaid is that after a comparable cartoon of the prophet Mohammed, the same artist had to fear for his life, while I am sure this one will raise smiles among buddhists as well.

A.32 Happy Buddha beer made in China. Even in China the Buddha image is popular enough these days to be used as the shape of a beer bottle. It is the fat or laughing buddha. (See below: A33!) (This bottle was presented to me by Ed Struijk)

A 33. 2 modern "fantastic" garden or window sill boeddha images with hand postures newly created from a commercial artist's imagination (Xenos department store in Amsterdam)

A 34.Garden buddha in front of a houseboat in the Amstel river in Amsterdam.

A35. Laughing fat buddha observing his own image. Scroll painting by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 19th century, Japan.The popular laughing or fat buddha, actually is no buddha at all, but a good luck god, called Budai or Putai in China, and Hotei in Japan. His name means "cloth bag", the item he usually carries with him. However, there are some associations with buddhism. There is a legendary excentric Chan buddhist monk called Budai, who lived in China during the Liang dynasty (10th century). Among some buddhist schools this Budai is considered to be an incarnation or manifestation of the future buddha Maitreya. That is why in the west his image came to be called: the "fat or laughing buddha". About the symbolic meaning of this sympathetic figure there is no doubt. Like Maitreya, he is known for his kindness (esp. towards children). His knapsack shows that he is poor himself. Here, smiling at his own image in the water, he seems to tell us that it is more important to make fun and be friendly than to have possessions or good looks. Hotei is the perfect figure to close this first series of 'funny' buddha's.

 

 

 

B. Famous 

The following is a series of famous statues. They may be famous for their history, unicity, size, material, function, etc. Some are locally famous, others world famous, some are the outstanding pieces of a museum, others the major attractions at buddhist pilgrim sites.

B1. Gandhara en Mathura buddha's. Two very early buddha images, both 1st century A.D. Left: from Gandhara culture in what is now East-Afghanistan. This buddha is seated on an old style lotus throne and surrounded by bearded devotees. Right: from Mathura India. This buddha is seated on a lions throne and protecting by two bodhisattva's. Both show the abhaya (don't fear) mudra. In fact the appearance of the first buddha images around the beginning of our era coincides with the appearance of Mahayana buddhism, which can be linked to influences from other cultures and religions, located west of the Indian subcontinent. The Gandhara image shows Western, hellenistic, influence, whereas the Mathura image is of more native Indian or Hindusthani origin. Mathura art of that period belongs to a mixture of Indian religions, hindu, buddhist and jain.

B2. Carved sandstone stele from the 5th century Gupta period. Location: Sarnath area U.P. India, now Indian museum, Calcutta. It shows the four main happenings in the life of the Buddha. From bottom to top:       1. Birth, miraculous of course, from the right side of his mother Maya, who has the appearance of a shalabhanjika, a protective female deity holding on to a treebranch. Actually, Maya and her husband, king Suddhodana had remained childless for over twenty years, when finally after dreaming of a white elephant entering her side, she became pregnant. When he was born, the Buddha could walk immediately and took two steps in each of the cardinal directions to announce that he would spread the dharma everywhere from heaven to earth (see: E15). This happened at Lumbini, near today's city of Bhairava in southern Nepal.     2. Enlightenment. Just before it happened, the Buddha was threatened by Mara the angry god of the netherworlds who sent his pretty daughters to distract him. Our hero however, touched the earth with his right hand (bhumisparsa mudra) to call Bhumi, godess of the earth, to help and be witness of his perseverence. This gesture and body position has become symbolic for his enlightenment and therefore most characteristic of the historical Buddha. It happened at Bodh Gaya in U.P India.     3.Teaching. The first teachings were given in the deer park in Sarnath (where this stele is from, near Varanasi, Bihar, India). The peculiar position of his hands in front of his chest (dharmacakra mudra) symbolizes this first turning of the wheel. The Buddha's first students were his former companions, with whom he had wandered around and practised yoga and austerities.            4. Death. In case of the buddha of course entry of nirvana, yes even more: paranirvana is symbolized obviously by his body lying down sideways. After decennia of travelling and teaching the Buddha had become old and weak. It is said that he dyed of food poisening, because a blacksmith named Cunda had provided him with bad food. This happened in Kushinagara, not far from Lucknow, also in U.P. India.   The four locations of these happenings have become the major buddhist pilgrim sites.

Other important buddhist pilgrim sites in India are: Rajgriha (capital of king Bimbisara of ancient Magadha. He donated grounds for the Buddha's monsoon retreat. The buddha tamed a wild elephant in this place (see E 18) ), Shravasti (capital of ancient Koshala, where a merchant donated his garden grounds and a monastery was built. Also a favourite rainy season retreat, where the Buddha performed miracles), Vaishali (Licchavi capital, place of the Buddha's last teaching, where he met a monkey who donated honey. In this same place the Buddha converted a courtisan and his favourite student Ananda reached enlightenment). Sanchi (location of one of the oldest stupa's), Ajanta (fantastically adorned cave monasteries from the 1st-5th centuries. (See B 4)), Nalanda (where from the 2nd to the 12th century was a monastic university), Ellora (34 man-made caves dating from 5th-9th century of which the older 12 are of buddhist - late-Ajanta) origin, the others are hindu and jain).

B3. Gigantic Gandhara style buddha. Sandstone covered with at one time painted plaster. 6th century. Location: Bamyan Afghanistan. This was the biggest (53m) of two of those rock sculptures in that place. The other was nearby and 36m high. Both were destroyed in 2001 by the fundamentalist islamic Taliban regime. Left: before, right: after the destruction.

B4. Bodhisattva Padmapani. Mural. Gupta 5th century. Location: Ajanta cave 1, Maharashtra, India. Padmapani, the lotusholder, is a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara.

B5. Gigantic Maitreya buddha statue.Sandstone and stucco. 7-8th century. Location: Binglingsi caves, Gansu province, China. Although he looks a bit angry here, Maitreya is the future buddha teaching loving kindness. For the time being, he resides in the supreme Tushita heaven, where bodhisattva's are reborn just before they become buddha. Maitreya is the only buddha who likes to sit upright on a throne, probably because he in fact is still a bodhisattva. The Binglingsi cave tempels contain over 800 buddha images. They are part of a series of cave complexes along the former Silk Route, such as the Yulin caves, and the famous Mogao or Dunhuang cave temples, which are also in Gansu province. Further west are a.o. buddhist cave sites near Turfan and Kucha, and more east are Karakhoto in Inner-Mongolia and the Yungang caves near Datong, Shangxi province, and the Longmen caves in Henan province. Art of several historical periods is present in many of these cave temples and monasteries.

B6. Four armed buddha Maitreya. Rock relief sculpture. 6th-7th century. Location: Mulbekh Ladakh, Northwest-India.
 In its head ornament this statue has a stupa, which identifies it as the future buddha Maitreya. However, the four arms are more usual for the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.The right hand here is in the mudra of giving (see A8 above). The vase with life-giving water is an old attribute of both Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya. The upper hands hold a rosary and what may be lotus. The statue is located on the western edge of the Tibetan culture area, but dates back from before the introduction and development of Tibetan buddhism. In that period, there was already an important trade route through this region connecting India via Kashmir with Central-Asia and China.

B7. Jowo Shakyamuni Buddha, the young buddha, when he was still a bodhisattva. 1.5m high. Location: Jokhang temple Lhasa. This most venerated image of Tibet meets hundreds of pilgrims daily. It was according to ancient legend made by a "celestial" artist called Vishvakarman during the lifetime of the Buddha and brought from India to China. In the seventh century A.D. it was transported to Tibet as a wedding gift to the first buddhist religious king Songtsen Gampo accompanying his Chinese wife, princess WengCheng. It is more realistically recorded that it was first placed in the nearby Ramoche temple in Lhasa, but as soon the king had died, Weng cheng confiscated the Jokhang, which used to be the temple of Songtsen Gampo's Nepali wife, the princess Brikuti, housing her buddha Akshobhya statue. At that time the two statues were exchanged. During the recent Cultural Revolution the whole Jokhang interior was destroyed. Whether this Jowo statue somehow survived or is a recent replacement, is hard to tell, because the original is too thickly covered with restauration layers of stucco and ornaments.

 

B8. "Toluvila" Buddha. Granite. 1.75m. 5th century. Location: Originally Anuradhapura, now Colombo national museum of Sri Lanka.

B9. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Sandstone. Khmer 10th century. Location Laos/Cambodja, now: Musée Guimet, Paris

B10. Bronze Buddha, "lightly dressed". 17th century. Location: Patan museum, near Kathmandu. The Newari bronze casting stands out  in the world and Patan was and still is its centre.

B11. Marble Avalokiteshvara with his dharmakaya (see below:C1), the buddha Amitabha, on his head. 1.20m high. 8th century. Location: Triloknath Lahul, Northwest India. The heavy Tibetan style decoration hides an unusual number of 6 arms and a peculiar (almost dancing like Shiva) lalita- or rajasana (one leg loose, royal) body position. The statue is often called Lokeshvara,"who sees the world", a designation of the hindu god Shiva, on whom this bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara "who listens (compassionately) to the world" may be inspired.

B12. Seated bronze Buddha "Mahamuni". 4m high. Location: Mandalay Myanmar. Brought here in the 18th century from Mrauk in Western Myanmar, but the statue is supposed to be much older. It is a very popular pilgrim's site and covered by a thick layer of gold plaque offerings..

B13. Standing Buddha statue. "Gold" painted stucco. 8m high. Location: Mandalay hill, Myanmar. The unusual forward stretched and pointing arm and hand pose is connected with a local legend connecting Birmese royalty with buddhism. It tells that the historical Buddha and his favourite student Ananda visited this place and predicted the foundation of a great capital at the foot of the hill. Indeed, in 1857 king Mindon moved his capital from Amarapura to Mandalay. The statue is even more recent, the hill a very popular place of pilgimage.

B14. Golden seated Buddha. 4m high. Location: Wat Traimit, Bangkok. This Sukothai style buddha dates back to the 13-14th century. The body supposedly is 40% gold, the head 80% and the flame on top even more pure gold. The statue was in the early 15th century brought from Sukothai to the new capital of Ayutthaya were it was covered by a layer of plaster to prevent it from being stolen. Indeed, it must have escaped the attention of the 18th century Birmese invaders who destroyed Ayutthaya. While the true identity and composition of the statue seems to have been forgotten, it was brought to Bangkok in 1801 by king Rama I and first housed in a different tempel. In 1935, it was moved to Wat Traimit, but it was not until a major restauration in 1955 that during transportation a piece of plaster broke off and the original golden inner statue was discovered and restored. This was just before the 2500 year celebration of the Buddha's birth and therefore considered all the more miraculous. 

B15. The "emerald" buddha. Jade. 66cm high. Location: Wat Phra Kaew, the royal palace temple, Bangkok. It is called emerald because of its colour, but in fact it is green jade. The statue was first recorded to be found in Chiang Rai in North Thailand in the 15th century and soon brought to the local capital Chiang Mai. In the 16th century, it was moved first to Luang Prabang in Laos and next to the present capital Vientiane. The Thai king Taksin and his general Chakri, who later became king Rama I, took it back to Thailand, to Thonburi in 1779 and finally in 1784, to its present place in Bangkok. For the Thai this buddha is most important because the fortune of the entire kingdom is considered to be connected with its well- being.

B16. Buddha Sakyamuni at Seiryoji (Seiryojishiki Shaka) 1.62m high. Sandalwood. 987 A.D. Location: Seiryoji temple, Kyoto, Japan.  In the Jataka (Buddha's life) stories it is told that when the Buddha went to visit his mother in heaven, the contemporary king Udayana had his statue made, because he missed him so much. Theoretically, this must have been one of only two statues which possibly had real likeness. A sandalwood copy of this statue was brought to China in the fifth century, where it was copied many times. In the 10th century a Japanese monk named Chonen, is said to have gone to China to have this copy made to take to Japan, where it was copied again several times. All these copies are known as Seiryojishiki Shaka, but this is the oldest one. The legendary statue was of course never found and all earlier copies perished. In the Pure Land buddhist temple of Seiryoji this statue is now a hibutsu (hidden buddha), shown to the public only at the 8th and 19th of the month.

B17. Amitabha (Amida) buddha, de big buddha (Daibutsu) in the Kotoku-in temple at Kamakura, Japan. Bronze plates. 13m high. 13th century. De Kotoku-in temple belongs to the Jodo-shu school of Pure Land buddhism. By means of recitation of the "nambutsu" mantra: "namu amida butsu", devotees of Amitabha, the buddha of endless light, hope to be allowed into his paradise, Sukavati. According to legends, there was already before this buddha statue another, wooden statue in this place, and this bronze statue is said to have been covered by a layer of gold, before it was a.o. destroyed by a tsunami in the 15 century. Nowadays, it is possible after a donation to visit the inside of the statue and through two windows in the back enjoy the scenery behind.

B18. Bodhisattva faces. blocks of stone. 5m.high? 12-13th century. Location: Bayon temple, Angkor Wat, Cambodja. The Bayon temple complex is built by Jayavarman VII, the only buddhist among the Khmer kings. He considered Avalokiteshvara to be his guardian "deity" in the same way as other kings propagated to reign in the name of hindu gods.
Around the temple, which was to symbolize the primeval Mount Meru, Jayavarma VII established his own capital Angkor Thom as part of the greater Angkor Wat complex.

B19. Buddha. stone. 9th century. Location: Borobudur, Java, Indonesia. Buddhism was brought from Sri Lanka to Southeast- Asia as early as the 4th and 5th century. At the time, it was both theravada as well as mahayana buddhisim. In the Borobudur complex, which is the biggest stupa in the world, one can do the pradakshina ritual, encircling a holy object clockwise, going up and up in smaller and smaller circles to the top and visualize the accomplishment of one's own enlightenment.

B20. Buddha Maitreya carved out in the rock. 71m high. 8th-9th century. Location: Leshan, Sechuan province, China. Biggest buddha statue in the world. It is said that it was made to appease the turbulent river for the ships to go by. Actually, the carving and chiselling caused so much debris to drop in the river, that it became shallower and quieter.

B21. Pensive bodhisattva, probably Maitreya. Brons. 7th century. 1m high. Location: Baekje or Silla, now in the National Museum in Seoul, Korea. Mahayana buddhism was introduced into Korea from China in the 4th century A.D. At the end of the Three Kingdomsperiod (58 BC-668 A.D.) especially the future buddha Maitreya -who is actually still a bodhisattva- became popular. He was supposed to guard the kingdom on earth like the Tushita heaven, where he is residing.

B22. Buddha walking elegantly. Bronze. 1.66m high. 14-15th century. Location: Sukothai, now, National Museum Bangkok, Thailand. The Buddha walking is a rare pose, typically and exclusively developed in the Thai Sukothai period. It is connected with the also still widely venerated footprints of the Buddha.

C. Bodhisattva's

Above, we have met already 5 bodhisattva images (A 6, 8, B 4, 6, 9,11 18, 21). In theravada buddhism a bodhisattva ("enlightenment person") is simply somebody who is going to become enlightened, such as the Buddha Sakyamuni before he came to Bodh Gaya and actually also all arhats. In mahayana buddhism however, bodhisatva-hood was lifted above arhatship to become a higher moral ideal, the example of ultimate compassion (karuna) and in mahayana art several symbolic "transcendent" or "heavenly" (sambhogakaya) bodhisattva's became prominent. They are protectors as well as examples of great buddhist virtues, such as compassion, wisdom, strength, loving kindness. Most popular among them has become Avalokiteshvara, bodhisattva of compassion itself (Tib. Chenrezig, Chin. Guanyin, Jap. Kannon.)

C1. Trikaya, the three buddha "bodies". Life size. Painted stucco. 18 or 19th century? Pin Gompa, Spiti, NW-India. The dharmakaya, the most abstract body representing the absolute -enlightenment about the nature of which nothing can be said-  is in the middle and looks like the historical Buddha. However, it is in fact his manifestation, the dhyani (meditation-) buddha Amitabha. From him "emanates" the sambhogakaya, body of heavenly joy, represented on the left by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. This manifestation of an "almost buddha" is one step less abstract, in the sense that its purpose is to serve as an instructive symbol, in this case symbolizing compassion. Finally, on the right, we have the third and most concrete nirmanakaya, the  enlightenment or "radiating light" body, of a concrete historical person. In this case, it is Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche who is said to be an incarnation or manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Padmasambhava is the Indian tantric teacher who in the 8th century was invited to Tibet and managed to introduce esoteric or tantric buddhism in Tibet and founded the first Tibetan buddhist monastery at Samye. In Tibet he is considered the second most important historical person after Shakyamuni. And in the oldest Tibetan buddhist Ningmapa tradition Padmasambhava is considered the prime teacher. Pin Gompa in Spiti belongs to that Ningmapa tradition, so this trikaya series shows the root of their spiritual lineage.   

C2. "Primitive" relief of bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Location: Zanskar, NW-India.This possibly "pre-Tibetan buddhist" relief may date back to the 6th or 7th century. The crown contains the buddha Amitabha image and the left hand carries a lotus. 

C3. Pagpa (wooden) Avalokiteshvara. 1.20m high. Location: Tsarang, Mustang Nepal. The original of this statue is a legendary miraculously created sandalwood statue which has also miraculously come from India into the property of the 1st Tibetan dharmaraja (buddhist king) Songtsen-gampo, who lived in the 7th century. Afterwards, it has escaped attention until it again miraculously reappeared in the Potala palace when this was built in the 17th century by the Great 5th Dalai Lama. The Potala was dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, whose incarnations both Songtsen-Gampo and the Dalai Lama's are supposed to be. In the course of time, a number of replica's have been made of the statue. Considering the 3-fold crown (with Amitabha) and the dress of the statue, it is certainly Indian style. The pose of the left hand is unusual.

C4. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Gilded bronze. 1.40m. high. 8-9th century. Location: Colombo museum Sri Lanka. This example of delicate Sri Lankan bronze casting is in lalitasana, royally seated with one leg loose, a characteristic pose for a bodhisattva, who after all is still a being of this world of samsara. His right hand is in kataka (lotus holding) mudra. The image dates from the late Anuradhapura period, when apparently there was mahayana influence on the island. In the 11th-13th century the capital was transferred to Pollunaruva by the hindu Chola's, but there also buddhism soon became dominant.  

C5. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and attendant. Stucco. 1.60m. ..century? Location: Mogao or Dun-Huang caves, Gansu province China. The bodhisattva's right leg is playfully loose (compare C4). The Dun-Huang caves "of the thousand buddha's" are north of Lake Kokonor (Chinghai) along the silk road. They were discovered in the early 20th century as not only another art treasury, but also an enormous library of ancient buddhist texts in Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan. Since at the time Chinese rule in this area was hardly established, an enormous amount of the treasures from the Central Asian buddhist sites along silk route have been removed and brought to Europe. This was the last and easternmost site were what the Chinese government considers ordinary plunder happened. True or not, we can be happy with what has been spared from destruction by e.g. muslim fanatics, but also the Cultural Revolution, which was still to come. Though not undamaged the above statue is still in its original place.      

C6. An 11-headed and 1000-armed bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the top head is of Amitabha. 2m. 18-20 century? Painted stucco. Location: Dolpo, Nepal. This main stream Tibetan (Sino-Tibetan) image exemplifies a popular feature in tantric art, to multiply heads and arms. In this case, symbolizing the all-seeing and all-knowing character of enlightenment as well the ultimate generosity of compassion. Next to the main figure are the red Manjushri, bodhisattva of wisdom (see below: C9) and blue powerful Vajrapani, wielder of the thunderbolt (see below: C10) . The three of them are very popular in Tibetan buddhism and together called Rigsum-Gompo, (brotherhood of the three protectors).

C7.Standing Avalokiteshvara. 20cm. ? century. Location: originally China, now Metropolitan museum of Art, New York.
Amtabha again in his headdress. Right hand in the impeccable argument mudra.

C8. "Primitive" Kashmiri? style bodhisattva image. 8cm. bronze-iron alloy. 6th century. Location: originally Kulu district NW-India. The identification is a bit of guesswork: from behind, it shows that the figure has been originally attached to a bigger piece of metal art. The statue is clothed in unusual local dress, but what makes it look like Avalokiteshvara is that he carries something like a watervase and before his chest a rosary? On top of his head may be a seated Amitabha. All three attributes are pretty unclear, but their combination makes the identification more likely, as well as the fact that he is barefoot and esp. standing on a lotus pedestal, which is reserved for the enlightened.

C9. Bodhisattva Manjushri. Red painted stucco. 3m. 14th century. Gyantse Tsug Lakhang, Tibet. Manjushri often is coloured red. He wears the bodhisattva crown and royal ornaments. His hands are in dharmachakra mudra, the pose of teaching (the wheel of the "law"). On his shoulder a sword (to cut away ignorance) and a book (the buddhist teachings) are the familiar attributes of this bodhisattva of wisdom. The style of this image is Indo-Tibetan. Before the dominance of the "reformed"Yellow head school of Tibetan buddhism and the Tibetan theocracy, the central-Tibetan province of Tsang with Gyantse as its capital has been a more or less independant kingdom, wealthy enough to send for Nepali artists to decorate its religious establishments like this temple and the famous nearby stupa. 

 

C10. Bodhisattva Vajrapani. 1.50m. Painted stucco. 11th-12th century. Location: Tsarang monastery, Kinnaur H.P. India.  Vajrapani, wielder of the thunderbolt, has obtained a very angry appearance in tantric buddhism. Together with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri he forms a trio of protecting bodhisattvas, but often he is with other fearful colleagues, such as Hajagriva, protecting the entry of a monastery or temple. In this case, he is in front of an ancient "Lotsawa" lhakhang in Kinnaur, which is one of a legendary 108 of such establishments in this area built by the great translator Rinchen Zangpo on his way from West-Tibet to India or vice versa (see also: C11). In these early days of "Indo-Tibetan tantric art this protector is represented as "ithiphallic" to make him extra frightening.

C11. Bodhisattva or dhyani-buddha (Amitabha?). Painted stucco. 11-12th century. Location: Charang Lotsawa lhakhang (see: C10). The painted stucco images on small platforms "jumping out of the wall" are characteristic for this early Indo-Tibetan or West-Tibetan tantric art connected with the haydays of the Former kingdom of Guge. Photo's C10 and
 C11 are from 1994, when this small monastery, founded by the great translator Rinchen Zangpo, although mentioned by the Italian tibetologist G.Tucci (cf.), was still totally forgotten. (see now: Klimburg-Salter, Van Ham etc.).

 

C12. Bodhisattva Padmapani. Bronze w. copper and silver inlay. 11-12th century. Location: Western Tibet.
Padmapani (lotus holder) is a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara and therefore also carries a small Amitabha in his headdress.

 

 

 

Female

C13. Avalokiteshvara. Porcelin. 25cm high. 17th century? Location. Shanghai museum, China. In China, Avalokiteshvara or Guanjin from very early is given gracious and even outright feminine features (See: C 14 and A29. This statue is a so called "blanc de chine" which started to be produced in the 17th century and later became so popular among western colonial collectors, that a special production line for that "antique market" has come up.

C14. Avalokiteshvara or Guanjin. 80cm high. 9-10th century? Binglingsi caves, China. Another example of a very feminine Chinese version of the bodhisattva, in tribanga (3-fold bend) and very early, since he or she is holding a vase of life giving water (see above:B6 and C8). A29 may also be a feminine Avalokiteshvara.

C15. Tara. 1m high. 12th century? Bronze. Location: Colombo museum. Avalokiteshvara is not only given a very gentle female appearance, but he has also an outrght female manifestation, called Tara. She is also his female counterpart or tantric consort. Like the important male bodhisattva's, she is sometimes part of a series of eight. In Tibetan buddhism there is a green and a white Tara, with whom the wifes of king Songtsen Gampo were associated (see above  B7) Tara is one of the few female bodhisattva's. Furthermore, there are a few female deities in buddhism, such as Prajnaparamita, the deified perfection of wisdom (see: C17 below). In absence of any female buddha's, she at least is considered 'the mother of all buddha's'.

C16. Tara. 1.40 high. gilded bronze. 16th century. Location: Tsarang Mustang, Nepal. Tara is here adorned with the bodhisattva crown and two lotus flowers of which Avalokiteshvara especially as Padmapani has only one.

 

C17. Goddess Prajnaparamita, 'mother of all buddha's'. bronze. 10th century. Location: Sri Lanka. The Prajnaparamita sutra is one of the most fundamental mahayana buddhist texts.(See also D5) Although it is a sutra (direct word of the Buddha Shakyamuni), the work is connected with the philosopher Nagarjuna as its known author. It is an extensive text and its composition may have taken a longer period of time between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st A.D. The later Diamond and Heart sutra's from the 4th century A.D., can be considered as shorter versions of the Prajnaparamita. The teaching focuses on the bodhisattva ideal and especially on the ultimate perfection to be developed by a bodhisattva, the "perfection of wisdom" or, more correctly, of "insight". At the same time however, everything is empty of permanence and of independant existence, including the concepts of bodhisattva as well as perfection and wisdom. If anything, enlightenment is in the direct realization of this emptiness (shunyata). The dialectics of the prajnaparamita is regarded to be the summit of buddhist philosophy, but also the most abstract part. That may be the reason why it has been deified to be more concretely venerated as a pretty goddess with a book on a lotus, both symbols of wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

D. Diverse art forms

The buddha image appears in many art forms, such as: sculpture in stucco, stone, jade, glass, wood, bone; relief in wood, stucco, stone, hammered metal etc; casts in clay, metal, such as brass, bronze, iron, silver, gold (coins);  paintings, drawings and prints on plaster, wood, paper, canvas, cotton, silk; And finally embroidery and patchwork.

D1. Seated Buddha Shakyamuni. Mathura relief in stone, probably the upper part of a door frame. 1st century B.C. One of the oldest images of the Buddha as a person.

D2. Buddha and Kanishka. Gold coin. 2nd century. 2cm. Location: originally Taxila, Pakistan; now: British museum London. This Gandhara coin from Taxila shows a bearded "Bactrian" Kushana king on one side and on the other side one of the first buddha images, with in Greek alphabeth: BODDO, to take away any doubt about the subject as well as about the hellenistic influence in Gandhara culture.

 

D3. Several buddha images are in this wooden door frame. 7th century. Location Jokhang Lhasa Tibet. This may be the oldest local buddhist artifact in Tibet. It probably dates back to the first building of this most holy temple in Lhasa during the reign of Songtsen Gampo (See above B6). And note how ruthlessly a hole has been drilled for an electricity cable to go through and curtainrings have been hammered into the bottom part.

D4. Three buddha's in relief on wooden bookcover. 23cm wide. 15th century? Location: Samagaon Upper Buri Gandaki, Nepal. The three buddha's on the top plank are hard to identify: the middle one has four arms two in dhyani mudra, which makes him probably the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Sadakshari instead of a buddha?; the right holds one a begging bowl, and both the right and left ones show bhumisparsha mudra. 

D5. Palmleaf manuscript illustrated with Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani (top) and Maitreya (bottom). Date: 12th century. Location: Vikramashila monastery, Bihar, India. It is from the 8000 verse Prajnaparamita sutra.

D6. Relic holder. Gandhara art. 1st century A.D. Very early representation of the Buddha as a person. (see also: B1, 3, D 1, 2)

D7. Buddha Amitabha Tsa Tsa. Moulded Sun dried clay in  a stupa. 10cm high. Gemi, Mustang, Nepal. Tsa tsa are Tibetan votive tablets of clay sometimes mixed with ashes of deceased. Behind the buddha figure there are other tsa tsa in the shape of a stupa. Tsa tsa can be of many shapes and also be used as amulets.

D8. Walking buddha on votive tablet of baked clay. 7cm high. These Thai tablets are still being produced and used as amulets.

D9. Bodhisattva (Tara?) image as a thokcha. 4cm high. Location: Mongolia. Thog means "above", "first" or vajra, and
lcags: iron or metal. Thokcha are small pieces of metal which according to Tibetans have fallen from the sky in ancient times. Nowadays, they are considered to be 'powerful' objects and used as amulets. They are in fact welded from some copper alloy and may contain meteorite iron, which makes the idea that they originate from the sky not completely untrue. The association with a vajra or thunderbolt may relate to the celestial origin. Moreover, some thokcha are vajra (symbolic thunderbolt) or the buddhist protector deity Vajrapani wielding it. This one however, wears a bodhisattva crown and has slightly pronounced breasts, so may be Tara? The age of thokcha is hard to establish. Some are pre- or non-buddhist images, from maybe even before the 7th century, others such as this one are buddhist, which makes them at least more recent than the 10th century.

D10. Buddha image on repoussé medaillon. Location: Borobudur, Java Indonesia. 13 century.

D11. Buddha  iron-copper alloy. 14cm high. 4th century? Colombo museum, Sri Lanka. This "primitive" cast buddha image sits in front of an impressive mandorla, a decorative arch coming out of the mouth of a primeval monster.

D12. Standing buddha. Gilded bronze cast. 16cm high. Location: Shanghai museum, China. These small cast bronzes on an extra undecorated stand are easy to identify as Chinese. They started to be produced from the 7th century onward. This one may date from the 9th century? The standing Buddha Shakyamuni is flanked by two bodhisattvas.

    

D13. Buddha in marble. Location Shwedagon dagoba area, Yanggon, Myanmar.

D14. Buddha bronze. 2.2m. Location: Shwedagon dagoba complex, Yanggon, Myanmar. Contrary to the simply cast bronzes (see: E1, E3, D11, 12), this one is made with the far more sophisticated "lost wax" method. (See also: B8, B12, C4) A very light alloy is used here and it is very well polished. The mother of pearl eyes add to its impressive value.

                                                      

D15. Boeddha Maitreya. Gilded wood. Choson dynasty, 15th century. Location: Korea.

 

D16. Stylized glass buddha. 14cm high. .. century? Colombo museum. Compare with E10

D17. Buddha as ascentic with attendants. Ivory. 8th century. Location: Kashmir, India. After Siddhartha left the world of plenty at home to find a thorough solution for the suffering he had seen in the world outside, he wondered around as a sadhu and tried extreme ascetic austerities. After he was presented with a bowl of cowmilk by a gentle shepherd girl, he was scolded by his fellow ascetics. His conclusion however was that there must be a middle way, between the life of plenty of his noble family and extreme ascetism.

D18. Hall full of gilded stucco buddha's. Location: Shwedagon dagoba complex, Yanggon, Myanmar. Note that all these are Shakyamuni Buddha to illustrate that the historical Buddha is the main focus of theravada buddhism and its art.

D19. Painted Buddha on plastered ceiling of one of the Dambulla caves, Sri Lanka. 1.2x0.8m. These caves are said to have served as a refuge for the early Anuradhapura king Valugambahu, when Tamils temporarily took over the capital in the 1st century B.C. After his return the king adorned the caves, which happened again several times in history until the 18th century, making it hard to date. This stylized buddha painting with wheels on his hands and feet has one hand is in vitarka (argumentation) mudra. His ushnisha has a peculiar multiple flame extension. Note also the disproportionate pressed-down body shape.

D20. Painted buddha on a wall inside one of the many huge stupa's of Bagan, Myanmar. 80cm. 12th century. The art of Bagan shows influence of old Indian buddhist art styles from before the disappearence of buddhism from the subcontinent in the 11-12 centuries. Note the peculiar shape of the ushnisha (top of the head) of this image and the equal length of his fingers. The ancient city of Bagan was a capital for the Birmese royalty for many centuries and each king built new stupa's in the very extended area. The biggest are square and have an inside corridor for devotees to make their pradakshina (clockwise circumambulation). It is on these inside wall that few ancient wall paintings can still be seen. The decline of Bagan was in the 14th century, It was damaged, according to some by Mongolian invasions, while others say that other Birmese tribes attacked the kingdom. If it was not abandoned, it was at least heavily damaged and neglected.

D21. Tibetan thangka (painted scroll) of the spiritual pedigree tree of Tsongkapa, 15th century founder of the Gelugpa 'virtuous', yellow head school. A tree like this shows the whole teaching lineage from the most abstract adibuddha and dhyanibuddha via the bodhisattva Manjushri, symbolizing wisdom, to the venerated teacher Atisha, founder of the former Kadampa school, and several other teachers and students to Tsongkapa and his disciples. As usual in tantric buddhism, the tree is also surrounded by fierce and angry looking protecting deities.Tsonkapa is considered the great reformer who redirected the focus on the 'gradual path'. To show the change he wanted, he took the traditional red pointed pandit (teacher's) hat and put it on with the yellow inside out. His school has become dominant in the Tibetan Dalai Lama theocracy from the 17th century onwards.

 

D22. Chinese painted scroll. The 'vinegar tasters'. Confucius (middle), Laotse (right) and the Buddha (left) are tasting. Confucius thinks it is sauer, symbolizing his mistrust in mankind. It is only by means of law and punishment that an orderly society is possible. The Buddha thinks it is bitter, symbolizing his assumption that life is suffering. Laotse thinks it is sweet, because he is above judgements, in harmony with nature and accepting things as they are. The message of the picture is to show the essence of all three major Chinese ideologies and how they are different but can coexist, because they are not mutually exclusive. (See also: A11).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peculiar, Instructive, Beautiful, Etc.

 

E1. Kashmiri bronze 8th century?. Shakyamuni on an elephant throne (see: B1). It is only later that we find superior enlightened beings such as buddha's and bodhisatva's on full or even double lotus thrones. One hand is in abhaya mudra (fear-not), the other in unusual pose.

E2 Buddha Shakyamuni on thangka. 12th century. 80cm high. Location: Khara Khoto, Central Asia; now: Hermitage St Petersburg. This very early thangka (painted scroll) shows the Buddha beneath the five dhyani buddhas with Vairocana in the middle. He has two bodhisattvas on his right and left, probably Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya (or Majushri?) and the 5 dyani or meditation buddha's above. Older thangka's like this one are not yet surrounded by a Chinese type of brocate frame, but stitched between  two rouphly woven dark pieces cloth above and below.

 

E 3. Shakyamuni and his two favourite disciples Sariputra and Maudgalyana. 14 century mural in Lori Gompa, Lo-Manthang, Nepal. The small cave temple of Lori predates by at least half a century the foundation of the Lo-Manthang kingdom (about 1400) by king Amedpal and the Ngor Sakya mission of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1456).

E4. Maitreya buddha. Bronze. 9th. century. Location: Java, Indonesia. Not only does the future buddha Maitreya like to sit in the European way, he is the buddha of loving kindness and of future teaching, which is shown by his dharmachakra mudra, the hand gesture of turning the wheel of the dharma, as symbol of teaching.

E5. Buddha Vairocana (Jap. Dainichi Nyorai). 1724. Location: Artis zoo, Amsterdam; originally Japan. Around 1900 Artis incuded a number of musea, among which the museum of Japanology. In the later part of 19th century, when the Japanese Shogunate had ended, it was for a while allowed to export Japanese antiquities, which could be bought at a low price. The Dutch captain Noordhoek Hegt paid a total of 400 guilders for the two images which are still in the Artis zoo. (see also E12).
This image is the dhyani (meditation) buddha Vairocana, who used to occupy the central position in the older Vajrayana traditions of Tibet as wel as East-Asia.

E6. Buddha Amitayus. Gilt Brass w. cold gold paint. 14th century. Location: Nepal (W-Tibetan?), now: Hermitage St. Petersburg. The buddha Amitayus is the buddha of long life. He is a manifestation of the dhyani buddha Amitabha, who is the buddha of boundless light. Instead of a begging bowl, Amitayus holds a vase with life giving water. He is considered to be the guardian of the medical profession and the medicine buddha Vaishyaguru is another manifestation of his (see: E6 below).

E7.Medicine boeddha. Fire gilded copper. 20cm high. 18th century. Location: originally Tibet, now, Essen collection, Bazel, Switzerland. In addition to the dhyani buddhas and the future buddha Maitreya, Bhaisyaguru or the "Medicine" buddha is another characteristic Mahayana figure. It is especially in the esoteric tantric buddhisms of Tibet en the Shingon school of Japan that we meet this buddha figure, sometimes as one in a series of eight. Blue is his colour when represented in painting. In this Sino-Tibetan version he holds a pot of life-giving water in one hand and a curing myrabulan fruit in the other. He is related to the buddha of longevity Amitayus (see above E6) and in the end to Shakyamuni who also is considered to be the universal 'healer'.

E8. Buddha heads lying around in Ayutthaya Thailand. 15-18th century. Their decapitation probably took place during attacks from Birma which brought an end to the Ayutthaya period in 1767..

E9. Loose enormous buddha head. Shanghai museum. The decapitation may have been a result of the Cultural Revolution (1966-69).

E10.Huge reclining buddha. Bago, Myanmar. In a lovely cadre.

E11.Buddha. painted stucco. 12th century? Location Bagan, Myanmar. These more or less pressed down, neckless and big headed buddha images are characteristic for a certain period? in Sri Lankan (see: D12) as well as Birmese art.

E12.Standing stone buddha 12th century? Location: Pollunaruva, Sri Lanka

E13. Bodhisattva Jizo (Kshitigarbha)? 18th cenury. Location: Artis zoo, Amsterdam; originally Japan. (see above: E4). The bodhisattva Kshitigarbha is a commonly venerated figure in East-Asia. His name means "womb of the earth", where the buddhist hells are located. Kshitigarbha is supposed to have vowed not to enter nirvana until all hell beings are also liberated. He is the protector of children, including the prematurely died or aborted ones. He is generally shown as a monk, standing upright with a halo around his head, a cintamani (wishfulfilling gem) in his left and a monk's traditional begging staff in his right hand. This image however, is sitting in lotus position, while the gem has disappeared and the begging staff is replaced by a lotus flower including its stem.

E14. Two buddha's. Originally painted stucco. 6-7th century. Location Binglingsi caves. Gansu, China. Probably these two are Shakyamuni (Chin.Shijiamouni) and Prabhutaratna (Chin.Duobao). The meeting of these two genlemen is to emphasize the importance of the Lotus sutra.

(A sutra is a teaching by the Buddha himself. In theravada buddhism, the sutra's together with the abhidharma, commentaries, and the vinaya, monk's rules, make up the tripitaka, the three baskets containing the total the buddhist canon. This was all written down in Pali on Sri Lanka, probably no less than three centuries after the Buddha's life time. In mahayana buddhism new special sutra's where added, which are also considered the Buddha's original teachings, but actually "inspired" by the Buddha and written down in Sanskrit six centuries after his life time.)

In the Lotus or Saddharmapundarika sutra is a passage in which, while the Buddha Shakyamuni is teaching, an enormous stupa appears in the sky with Prabhutaratna, the last buddha of the previous era, in it. The buddha of the past jumps out of this special buddhist time-spaceship to say hello to his coleague, because he made a vow that whenever the Lotus sutra would be taught, he would show his immanence. Actually, it is the Lotus sutra that states the identity of samsara and nirvana - which is basic in mahayana philosophy - and therefore the nearness or immanence of buddha's (instead of being locked-out in (para)nirvana after death). It is in Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) buddhism that the Lotus sutra is considered the supreme part of the dharma. This east-Asian mahayana school is founded at the end of the sixth century, when one after the other several new Chinese translations of the Lotus sutra appear.

15. Buddha als kind. Brons, 20 cm hoog, 16-17e eeuw, China. Collectie Aaldering, Amsterdam. Toen de Boeddha geboren werd, uit de zijde van zijn moeder, nadat zij een droom had gehad van een witte olifant waardoor ze zwanger was geworden, stapte hij meteen al een peuter de wereld in en verklaarde dat hij de ware dharma zou verbreiden in alle windrichtingen van van de aarde tot in de hoogste hemel.

E16. Standing Buddha? in rock. 12th century. Location: Gal vihara, remains of a cave monastery in Pollunaruva, Sri Lanka. This statue is standing near a reclining buddha image and has his arms folded in a totally unique unfamiliar way. Some say it is not the Buddha, but his favourite student Ananda, who was present at the Buddha's death. However, according to literature Ananda was not even enlightened yet, while this image has the curled hair, the ushinisha and long earlobes of a mahapurusha (superman) even the monks dress and the half closed eyes shaped like lotus petals like the Buddha.Add caption

E16. Big Buddha. Stucco 13th century. Location: Sukhothai, Thailand

E 17.Palm leave illustration in the oldest Indian Sanskrit manuscript (997 A.D) kept in Cambridge University Library. It a version of the Prajnaparamita sutra in 8000 verses (Ashtasahasrikaprajnaparamita). The illustrations do not all relate to the text. This one shows Shakyamuni magically subduing the wild elephant Nalagiri of Magadha king Ajatashatru. The elephant was send to kill the Buddha by his jealous aberrant student and nephew Devadatta. Devadatta wanted to make the 13 dhutanga ascetic practises compulsary for monks. The Buddha disagreed with this as too far from the middle way and kept these rules optional. On the painted image two students hide behind the master while from the fingers of his right hand fierce lions erupt and make the elephant go from a fierce to a restful position.  

E18. Buddha cave. Location: Dambulla, Sri Lanka. A cave full of buddha's: sitting standing, reclining, a nice family all together, but all no doubt are the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, the major focus of theravada buddhist art.

 

E19. Blue buddha Samantabhadra in yab-yum (lit. "father-mother", sexual embrace) padmasana (lotus position). 1.20m high.
Brand new wall painting. Location: Pemayangste monastery, Sikkim, India. Samantabhadra is the adhi (primordial or root-) buddha of the Ningmapa (oldest) school of Tibetan buddhism. If the adhi-buddha himself is not enough to do so, the sexual embrace all the more symbolizes the absolute all transcending truth of enlightenment as unity or sythesis of oppositions: male-female, morality and meditation, compassion and wisdom, practice and theory, means and end. At the same time however, it shows practical and primal extatic desire as the source of life and death. After all, it is the identity of nirvana and samsara, absolute and relative truth, which is the basic idea in mahayana buddhism.