Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of religious art
Relationship between religion and music
The importance of religious art
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The importance of religious art
Many religions often embrace art as a way to explain their beliefs, and encourage devotion. This is true in Buddhism, and works depicting the Buddha and scenes from his life are a common fixture in the art of many Asian countries. In several pieces at the Worcester Art Museum, especially Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness, different scenes of the Buddha’s life are depicted show using a rich iconography that illustrates the Buddha’s enlightenment and other traits. The Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, teachings, and eventual entrance into Nirvana are all common scenes in art. At the Worcester Art Museum, many ideas about Buddhism can be learned by examining the life of the Buddha as detailed in Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness and other …show more content…
Because of this, he is regarded as the greatest Buddha, and is simply referred to as ‘the Buddha.’ Before attaining Buddhahood, Siddhartha was born to a royal family in India. Siddhartha lived a sheltered life, and left to find enlightenment after seeing the suffering of the world. The Buddha achieves enlightenment after meditating under the Bodhi tree. Shortly after this, the Buddha preached his first sermon in Varanasi. When the Buddha’s life ended, he achieved Nirvana. These scenes in the Buddha’s life are commonly depicted in Buddhist art, with many of them being represented in Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness. Buddha Summoning the Earth as Witness details the birth of the Buddha in the lower left-hand corner. In the life of Siddhartha, it is believed that Siddhartha’s mother gave birth to him while travelling to her homeland. The panel depicting the Buddha’s birth shows a woman wearing jewelry, as well as an infant. The way the infant and the woman are juxtaposed gives a sense of movement, which may indicate the idea that the Buddha was born while his mother, was still travelling. This illustrates an event in the life of the Buddha that is often
The statue that will be the focus of this paper portrays the figure “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light.” Like many other statues of the Buddha, this Amida Buddha was portrayed to be deep in meditation, sitting cross-legged. A viewer could observe that the Amida Buddha is making a hand gesture while in deep meditation. These gestures, also known as “mudras,” are symbolic in the Buddhist religion, and they are used to convey certain ideas (O’Riley 70). In this case, the Amida Buddha is making the mudra of appeasement (“Amida”). More physical observations could be made by pointing out the “balanced form, divine features, and flowing drapery” (“Amida”) of the Amida Buddha. Those qualities represent the nature of the Buddha, revealing him as “transcendent, graceful, and compassionate” (“Amida”). Features common to other Buddha sculptures show up on this Amida Buddha, like the elongated earlobes, the mole on his forehead, and patterned hair. At first glance, the Am...
In his early life, he was born a Kshatriya. Until the age of twenty nine, Siddhartha lived a luxurious life as a prince. Siddhartha’s father, King Shuddodana consulted Asita, a well-known soothsayer, concerning the future of his son. Asita proclaimed that he would be one of two things: He could become a great king, even an emperor. Or he could become a great sage and savior of humanity. This made King Shuddodana wary of what his son may become, therefore he did anything in his power to surround his son Siddhartha with beauty and health to show Siddhartha that there is nothing to save humanity from since it is perfect. If Siddhartha was my son, I would let him see all the suffering in the world and allow him to take action instead of hiding it. It is selfish for the King to hide humanity’s flaws. One day, Siddhartha had seen two wandering, sick and old men. He also, for the first time, experienced death. Due to the sights he had seen, he escaped the palace and lived in a forest where he followed a spiritual life of meditation. After only six years, he achieved enlightenment under the famous Bodhi tree. Siddhartha claims that everyone is able to achieve enlightenment and we all possess
...tues being so near. From the Sui dynasty (581-618), the “Quan Yin” statue reminded me of the readings in class about Red Azalea. I have always thought that this was a female saint; however, after seeing and observing it, maybe I’m wrong. Another place in the museum that evoked my feelings was the Japanese collection. The Japanese Buddhas were mentally more lifelike, because of the details of the color in the eyes. One could mistake some of them for demons and evil beings. However, they are all doers of good for mankind. The Japanese exhibit felt like a place of court where people came in to be cleansed, forgiven and punished after their evil deeds. Overall, my learning experience has taken me to a higher level of understanding that diversity within the same beliefs in Buddhism are mainly different by the way they migrated and the way Buddha is represented in the features and looks in another culture. However, whatever the culture might be, the teachings of Buddha are all shared and learned the same way:
The lotus flowers surround Buddha and he also is sitting on a giant one. They are symbols that the Buddha is awakened almost as a sign of rebirth. The lotus flowers meaning in Buddhism means rising above everything and achieve enlightenment. There are lotus flowers that are not yet open representing that not all are yet enlightened and the lotuses that are fully bloomed representing full-enlightenment and self-awareness. Buddha sits in front of the Bodhi tree which literally means awakening or enlightenment. Behind the tree is a full moon and in Buddhism has a great significance. The Buddha was born on a full moon day and his enlightenment was also during a full moon. The Buddha also has earth touching mudra. Mudra is the religious hand gestures and earth touching is “calling the earth to witness”. These concepts go back to the Four Noble Truths. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. The fist noble truth is represented by the temptresses and the flaming arrows sent from Mara. After the temptresses did not seduce Buddha Mara sent flaming arrows from all directions towards the Buddha representing that all of life’s sufferings. This artwork shows the second noble truth by Buddha avoiding the temptresses that Mara sent and in this way Buddha avoided having cravings or desires. By not submitting to those desires and cravings Buddha realized that this is the ending all suffering is to remove all desire, ill will and ignorance therefore completing the third noble truth. The fourth noble truth is represented by the weight of the Buddha in the artwork showing Buddha not overweight and not starving but in the middle showing him living The Middle Path. When artists get to work responding and expressing, whether or not also to urge a point,
It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men. Great men are leaders. They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society. Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men. Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres. But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man. When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common. This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas: conception and birth. In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.
Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacarita: The Life of the Buddha serves as one of the most relevant and profound texts regarding the Buddhist religion and it’s foundations. However, unlike other popular religious texts, this one does not serve as a historical document but rather a vessel for explaining the teachings of the Buddha, serving as a guide for the followers of the Enlightened One. Ashvaghosha’s descriptions of the Buddha, his life, and his actions provide an example of the Buddha’s disciplines and truths, giving his followers a detailed and structured idea of his way of life. The Buddhacarita’s descriptions in particular focus on the teaching of pervasive suffering, it’s causes, and the paths (both right and wrong) to breaking free from it.
It is generally agreed that the Buddha was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu to the ruler of a small kingdom. He grew up with luxuries and had a sheltered life. When he was 29 he came to realize that hi life up to this point had been so empty. He let go any earthly attachments and soon set out to find peace and enlightenment trying to steer away from the cycles of rebirths. He started practicing Yoga and "adopted a life of radical asceticism." He soon gave up this way of thinking and focused on "a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial." After a time of great inner struggle, he began to wander to different places and preach and organized a monastic community know as the sangha.
The Buddha in the Attic is written to represent the unheard experiences of many different women that married their husband through a picture. They were known during the early 1920s as the pictures brides ranging in different ages, but naive to the world outside of America. Though the picture bride system was basically the same as their fathers selling their sister to the geisha house, these women viewed being bought to be a wife by a Japanese male in America as an opportunity for freedom and hope for a better life (Otsuka, 2011, p.5) For some of these women, the choice to marry the man in the picture wasn’t an option and chose to die while on the boat instead of marry a stranger, while others accepted their fates with grace. The book continues
The Buddha had lived a sheltered childhood. Before the Buddha was born, “his mother dreamed that a white elephant entered her womb” (“Buddha” Compton’s) and soon after she became pregnant (“Buddha” Compton’s). In the sixth century BCE in Lumbini (present day Nepal), the Buddha was born. His birth name was Siddhartha Gautama, and his father was the king of the Shakya people. His mother, Queen Mayadevi, died a week after giving birth
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama is the historical founder of Buddhism, and naturally his name expresses numerous myths. The records from ancient times suggest that Socrates was born to a family of a sculptor during the Peloponnesian war. He was married to a shrew, and had trivial financial independence. In opposition, the historical Buddha was a splendid prince, who floundered in luxury with his wife in the genial palaces which kept ignorant of the wretchedness of the world. . Once he discovered the austere reality, he took the path of a loner and by trial-and-error method, from practicing extreme austerities to meditation; he reached enlightenment. (Socrates Biography)
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Altarpiece Dedicated to Buddha Maitreya (Mile) [China] (38.158.1a-n). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
After many years of seeking answers to his questions, particularly about suffering and death, Siddhartha came to a revelation and decided to adopt a path of moderation known as the Middle path, which found ground somewhere in between self-indulgence and asceticism. According to legend, Siddhartha sat under what is known as the Bodhi Tree and meditated intensely until at last he achieved Enlightenment when he reached a state of profound understanding. From that point on he was known as the Buddha. (Molloy 127)...
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests. In his teaching, the Buddha taught his followers to follow "the middle way", that is, not the way of extreme asceticism. He attained full understanding of the nature of being by meditation and after his success, decided to impart his knowledge to those who follow him .
When the religious art leaks out of the religious community and into the broader world of culture, it is one of the ways the meaning of the art can evolve. This is also an opportunity for the art to draw the world to religion. Moreover, artistic reinterpretation of sacred imagery can help keep religion honest. The church has always been enriched by the tension that comes with diversity in art. Art is communication and effective art communicates effectively to any group at any level.