China And Seated Buddha Comparison

The principles, elements and structures of Buddhism have been practiced for hundreds of years. Artistic renditions of Buddha have also been portrayed in many different ways. Drawings, sculptures and statues are just a few of the many types of art forms created since the beginning of Buddhism. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has many different stylistic artworks that are exceptionally intriguing. In particular, I have chosen two pieces of artwork I consider to be most interesting. Both depict an image of Buddha from different time periods. This essay will compare and contrast “Seated Buddha” (image 1), a sculpture from the Gupta period, India, and “Seated Buddha” (image 2), a hard stone from the Qing Dynasty, China. By looking at these two images

It is known to be a religion, a philosophy and a way of life.” The main idea, foundation and fundamentals of Buddhism were born 2,500 years ago in the foothills of India. Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family and raised as a prince in the Gupta period. He was always confined to the palace and was sheltered from the real world. As time went on, Siddhartha wanted to find out the meaning of life and his experiences through his journey created the practice of Buddhism. His first teaching as a Buddha was based on the doctrine of the four noble truths and along with the principle of the middle way, the eight fold path. Through oral tradition, the ideas and practices of Buddhism spread across India. The teachings of Buddha spread through Asia when the trade of silk passed from one country to another along with what came to be known as “The Silk Road.” “Early Chinese tradesman started to hear of the wonderful teachings coming out of India and curiosity in Buddhism was aroused in China.” Buddhism developed into two major forms of theology after the spread of the teachings and practices. Theravada Buddhism was considered the form that was developed in India and Mahayana was considered the form that developed in China. “Theravada’s adherent followed more literally the teachings of the historic Buddha, while the followers of Mahayana more freely adapted the Buddha’s

The Qing Dynasty continued from the Ming Dynasty. The type of Buddhism that is portrayed in China is Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana is the cultivation of one and everyone else reaching nirvana or near enlightenment. Looking at “Seated Buddha” (image2) from the Qing Dynasty, this image of Buddha reminds us of the teachings of Buddha but is a portrayal of a Chinese version during the Qing Dynasty. Both images reflect the distinctly different geographical and theological origins of India and