Buddhist Three-Dimensional Art Forms:

Key Question: “Why study Buddhism in art class?”

The fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. marked a time of worldwide intellectual activity. It was an age of great thinkers, such as Socrates (ca. 470- 399 B.C.E.) and Plato (ca. 428 and 348 B.C.E.) in Greece and Confucius (551- 479 B.C.E.) and Laozi (6 th cent. B.C.E.) in China. In India, it was the age of the Buddha, who inspired a religion that eventually spread far beyond his homeland.

In the earliest Buddhist art in India, the Buddha is not represented in human form. By the 1 st century C.E., followers of the Buddha had elevated him to the status of a god. The human figure of the Buddha wearing a religious robe began to dominate the art of India. The figure (whether depicted in painting or sculpture) always bore signs of his supernatural perfection.

The ushisha (the bulge or top knot on the Buddha’s head) represents great knowledge. The urna (dot on his forehead) symbolizes his ability to understand all things. Mudras are symbolic hand gestures with special meanings seen in/on artistic depictions of the Buddha, and bodhisattvas.

Specific mudras include:

• Dhyana mudra: meditation (palms up, right over left, on the lap).
• Abhaya mudra: fearlessness (raised right hand, lowered left hand, palms forward)
• Dharmachakra mudra: teaching (same as above, forefingers touch)
• Bhumisparsha mudra: calling the earth to witness (right hand is draped over the front of the right leg, palm facing the leg, and the left hand, palm up, is positioned at waist level)

Furthermore, the Wheel of Dharma is a symbol of Buddha’s teachings. It contains associations with the four pivotal stages in the life of the Buddha:

• Birth
• Enlightenment
• First Sermon at Deer Park, Benares
• Death

Teaching students about pivotal turning points in the life of the Buddha along with key pieces of information about the history of Buddhism’s legacy in the Himalayan region- while introducing students to the copper casting/foundry process will enable students to understand the why’s and how’s of the sculptural tradition in Nepal.

Then, teaching young students about the ritual significance of sculptural objects placed at the altars of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet will help to complete the picture of how and why Buddhist sculptural objects are so highly valued.

With the incorporation of the Buddha’s human image into art after the 1 st century, sculptors began to depict legends surrounding the youth of Gautama, including stories of his birth and death. These legends and historical events were eventually combined into a clear story that usually centers on the four main events in the Buddha’s life.

Buddhist sculpture can be better understood and appreciated through a comprehensive study of Icons that will serve to clarify the meaning and significance of the form. Essentially, art explains the teachings of Buddhism in visual form (through symbols).

Key questions to students:

*What is adorning the Buddhist sculpture? Why?

*What gestures are evident in the Buddha’s position? What do they signify?

Our job as observers of Buddhist art is to determine how symbolism gets to universal themes. For example, why do the hands hold a vajra and bell?

Many graphic and three dimensional images were never meant to be shown in public, including sexually suggestive depictions of some of the highest levels of Tantric practices.

Common in Buddhist homes are ritual use and worshiping the presence of the Buddha statue (as a kind of living being). Objects in shrines are meant to be touched, by visitors. Frequently, across class, entire rooms in homes are dedicated to the Buddha.

Art serves as a metaphor of the Tantric enlightenment process, also as a tool for visualization.

Valuable kinds of related activities for students in a middle school art class could include the following:

• Listen to or read a story about the Buddha’s life and learn about symbols that identify an image of the Buddha or represent aspects of his life and teachings.
• Directly examine works of art to find Buddhist symbols
• Compare/contrast the Buddha and the bodhisattvas in the Buddhist trinity.
• Produce artworks using symbols and the distinguishing characteristics of the Buddha or bodhisattva.
• Design and construct a unique, completely personal figurative sculpture that includes meaningful symbols that support the “purposes” of the form.

It is important for students to learn about others’ belief systems and practices. Knowledge and understanding (of such common ritual objects and practices) leads to greater understanding, empathy and tolerance of differences among peoples.