Buddhist Art

The main events of the Buddha's life are well known. He was born Siddhartha Gautama of the Shaka clan. He is said to have had a miraculous birth, precocious childhood, and a princely upbringing. He married and had a son. Fasting Buddha Shakyamuni, 3rd-5th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art)He encountered an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a religious ascetic. He became aware of suffering and became convinced that his mission was to seek liberation for himself and others. He renounced his princely life, spent six years studying doctrines and undergoing yogic austerities. He then gave up ascetic practices for normal life. He spent seven weeks in the shade of a Bodhi tree until, finally, one night toward dawn, enlightenment came.

A conversation in the galleries at the American Museum of Natural History about four Buddhas: A conversation in the galleries at the American Museum of Natural History about four Buddhas: Click for video… Seated Gautama Buddha, 18th Century, cast brass, gilt (Thailand) Gandharan Seated Buddha with Double Halo, attributed to the 3rd Century, green-gray schist (Pakistan) Jizo, Kshitigarbha, Dhyani-Bodhisattao, 19th Century, wood, gold (Japan) Budai (Ho t'ai)/Maitreya, The Laughing Buddha, c. 1900, metal (China)

Three types of architecture: stupa, vihara and the chaitya Buddhism, the first Indian religion to require large communal and monastic spaces, inspired three types of architecture. The first was the stupa, a significant object in Buddhist art and architecture. On a very basic level it is a burial mound for the Buddha. The original stupas contained the Buddha's ashes. Relics are objects associated with an esteemed person, including that person’s bones (or ashes in the case of the Buddha), or things the person used or had worn. The veneration, or respect, for relics is prevalent in many religious faiths, particularly in Christianity. By the time the Buddhist monasteries gained importance, the stupas were empty of these relics and simply became symbols of the Buddha and the Buddhist ideology. Second was the construction of the vihara, a Buddhist monastery that also contained a residence hall for the monks. Third was the chaitya, an assemly hall that contained a stupa (though one empty of relics). This became an important feature for the monasteries that were cut into cliffs in central India. The central hall of the chaitya was arranged to allow for circumambulation of the stupa.