Samatha Posts about Journey of Buddhism

• Buddhism: The great quest
• Buddhism: Sacred Stupas
• Buddhism: Vehicles of peace
• Buddhism: Himalayan home
• Buddhism: Great diffusion

Source: Frontline

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS: BENOY K. BEHL

The Buddha, Ayuthaya, Thailand. Amid the ruins of the many temples of Ayuthaya are sculptures that remind us of the past glory of this holy site.  

IT is fascinating how philosophic and cultural ideas spread freely in ancient times across formidable barriers such as mountains and oceans. Ideas can have a life of their own and it is often impossible to contain them within national or geographical boundaries. One of the greatest stories of the diffusion of ideas is that of Buddhism, which spread right across the Asian continent.

The ancient Indic vision of life is one that is filled with compassion. It sees a oneness in the whole of creation. The separated forms of the world are considered to be maya, or mithya, illusions perceived through our subjective and limited sensibilities. Our belief in our separate identity and ego is the greatest illusion. It keeps us bound to desires and attachments in the material world. It is a life of pain, as none of our illusory goals can bring us happiness. Peace and joy can only come through the shedding of desires.

All human beings are aware of the pain of life in this world. Thus, this philosophy was received with open arms wherever it travelled. It had a transforming influence in all the countries that embraced it. The culture of a continent was shaped by this deeply ethical vision.

This philosophy also took with it the marvellous concept of deities. In the Indic philosophy of aesthetics, it is believed that the moment of the aesthetic experience is akin to the final bliss of salvation itself. Our response to beauty is seen as our perception of the grace that underlies all that there is. The moment we experience beauty, we are transported. For that brief instance, we have lost our material desires: we have perceived that which is beyond our illusory concerns. Accordingly, early Indic philosophy and art constantly present the beauty of sublime deities before us.

Buddhist temple, Ayuthaya. Until the late 18th century, the capital of Thailand was Ayuthaya. In its time, it was one of the most sanctified centres of Buddhism in Asia.  

Deities are personifications of ideas and qualities. The qualities, such as wisdom, compassion, kindness and courage, are within us. We look upon their representation in art: we focus our attention upon these, until they are awakened within us. These grow and fill us completely.

This philosophy, carried in Buddhist and Brahmanical faiths, spread through the whole of Asia in ancient times. Traditions of art sprang up everywhere in order to create sublime deities to aid us on the path of enlightenment. A vision of life was established, which looked always beyond the material world, to the peace that was eternal.

In ancient times, India traded considerably with countries in the Mediterranean region, West Asia and South and South-East Asia. This led to a great spread of ideas. There are inscriptions relating to Greeks who became Buddhists and Brahmanical devotees in the B.C. and early A.D. periods. There were large colonies of Roman settlements in India.

A landmark in the culture of Asia was Emperor Asoka’s daughter Sanghamitra’s journey to Sri Lanka with the message of Buddhism in the 3rd century B.C. The faith was accepted with great warmth in the island. In centuries to come, Sri Lanka became the centre of the early form of Buddhism, known as Theravada Buddhism.

The temples and stupas of Bagan, Myanmar. Bagan, with sublime sculptures and paintings, is one of the great Buddhist sites of the world.  

The earliest paintings of Sri Lanka are found in a cave, high atop the massive Sigiriya rock. The 5th century Buddhist paintings of Sigiriya, in their graceful lines and deeply thoughtful expressions, carry forward the traditions of art seen at Ajanta. There is close similarity between the paintings of Sigiriya and those of the later period of Ajanta. They were contemporaneous. The figures have an inward look, which pervades the Indic art of this period. The painter’s gentle touch shows us that he is filled with sympathy and compassion for humankind. These paintings, through their lilting grace, remind us that there is an end to the sorrow of the world.

In the 12th century, the Chola kingdom covered South India and parts of Sri Lanka. The styles of the end-10th century paintings seen in the Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur are closely reflected in Sri Lanka. The 12th century Buddhist murals at Polonnaruva portray the Jataka tales, the stories of the previous births of the Buddha. These tales embody the norms of ethical living and were the chief vehicle for conveying them in the early form of Buddhism. We see representations of the Jatakas in Buddhist art from the Bharut (Madhya Pradesh) stupa railings of the 2nd century B.C. onwards.

Buddhism has a long tradition of rock-cut caves. These were perhaps used for meditation and as residences of monks. Since ancient times, the walls of these caves were profusely painted and sculpted. Sri Lanka has preserved and nurtured the ancient tradition of cave paintings. The sanctity of the secluded interiors provides an atmosphere of peace, far from the clamour of the material world. The caves at Dambulla have sculptures and paintings from early times up to the 18th century.

Myanmar was a great crucible of Buddhist influences and art that came to it over the centuries. At the end of the first millennium, Myanmar had a deep relationship with the centre of the Buddhist faith at Bodh Gaya, in Bihar, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. In fact, the architectural form of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya is followed in the 11th and 12th century temples that were built in Bagan.

Mural, dancer and musicians, circa 12th century, Bagan. The interior walls of the numerous temples of Bagan were painted extensively. Some of these murals have survived. Those belonging to around the 12th century are some of the finest in the Buddhist tradition. There are striking similarities with the art of the Pala period in India as well as with the end-10th century Chola murals of the Brihadisvara temple, Thanjavur.  

By the 12th and 13th centuries, with the decline of Buddhist centres in the plains of India, scholars and artists from India took refuge in the deeply religious sanctuary of Myanmar. Bagan became a sanctified place with thousands of pagodas. The inspirations for this art came both from eastern India and from Sri Lanka.

The 12th century paintings on the inner walls of these pagodas are some of the finest and gentlest paintings of the entire Buddhist tradition. The themes are from the life of the Buddha and from the Jataka stories.

In ancient times, there were no barriers between Indic faiths. In fact, the kings of Myanmar were anointed with Hindu rites and ceremonies. A message from King Rama IX of Thailand, read out at an international conference, says that Thai kings were personifications of the Hindu deities – Siva, Vishnu and Brahma. In the words of the Thai scholar Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya, “Brahmins officiated at the ceremony of coronation, whereby they opened the gates of heaven for the Hindu gods to descend and thus make the person of the king god-like and empowered with dignity and grace.”

From early times, Thailand was influenced by Indic philosophy from Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Contact with neighbouring Cambodia and overseas trade with India brought to it the traditions of the worship of Hindu deities. The culture of Thailand developed as a marvellous synthesis of the Brahmanical and Buddhist influences coming from many sources. The predominant faith of the Thai people is Buddhism and one of their strongest cultural traditions is that of the Hindu epic Ramayana, or Ramakien.

Dumbulla caves, Sri Lanka. The lavishly painted interiors of these caves have witnessed Buddhist devotion for over two millennia.  

The temples of Bangkok and other places in Thailand present a marvellous blend of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. They are dedicated to the Buddha and their walls are elaborately painted with scenes from the Ramayana.

The division of Indic faiths into different religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, is a relatively recent phenomenon. European colonisers and scholars, whose understanding was based upon their knowledge of the sharply divided Semitic faiths, could not appreciate that belonging to any one of these faiths did not preclude puja (adoration) of the deities of others.

Since early times, the kings of the Tibetan plateau turned with a great eagerness and zeal to India, to imbibe the sacred faith of Buddhism. The Sanskrit script was taken to Tibet to prepare the basis of the Tibetan script.

Apsaras, mural, Sigiriya, 5th century A.D. The paintings made in the cave are among the greatest treasures of ancient Buddhist art. The delicate rendering of form and the expressions of the painted figures recall the classic art of Ajanta.  

In the 8th century, Santarakshita from the Nalanda university made the first Buddhist temple in Tibet (Samye, based upon the architectural model of the Odantpuri Mahavihara in Bihar) and laid the foundations of a monastic order there. He appealed to Guru Padmasambhava, also of Nalanda, to visit Tibet and help enlighten the people about the new faith. Padmasambhava, who was teaching in Kashmir, brought with him the Cham, the spiritual dance of Vajrayana Buddhists.

This dance is believed to purify the land and drive away all evil spirits. It also celebrates the victory of good over evil: man’s conquest over his ego, which binds him to negative and worldly desires. The period of Guru Padmasambhava is known as the First Great Diffusion of Buddhism in the Himalayas. To this day, the guru is the most revered teacher for all Buddhists in the region.

Bodhisattva, Mural, Polonnaruva, 12th century A.D. The gentle expressions on the faces of the Bodhisattvas carry forward the finest traditions of Buddhist art. These paintings are among the masterpieces of medieval Buddhist paintings in Asia.  

In the 10th century, Yeshe ’Od ascended the throne of Guge, which included Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and western Tibet. By then, Buddhism had declined in Tibet. What troubled the king most was that even the little practice of the faith that continued was incorrect and full of local magical rites.

Yeshe ’Od sent Rinchen Zangpo and other scholars to Kashmir to bring back scriptures with the true knowledge of Buddhism. These were translated into Tibetan by Zangpo, who became famed for all time to come as Lohtsawa or the Great Translator. Rinchen Zangpo continues to be revered in the Himalayan region. In fact, in the minds of the people, he has been transformed from a historical figure into a divine being with magical powers.

The tradition of adoration of deities and holy persons through the offering of flowers is continued in the cave paintings of Sigiriya.  

Yeshe ’Od and his successors built a chain of 108 monasteries across Guge. These were painted and sculpted by artists who were brought from Kashmir. This period is known as the Second Great Diffusion of Buddhism in the Himalayas. These monasteries became the foundations of Buddhist culture and art.

The Himalayan country of Nepal has preserved both Buddhist and Hindu traditions over the centuries. It has some of the grandest early stupas, which are worshipped even today. Nepal is geographically close to the cultural centres of the Indian plains, and there is a great heritage of philosophy and art that Nepal has shared with India over the centuries. With the disruption of Buddhist centres in India by the 12th and 13th centuries, large numbers of monks and scholars took refuge in Nepal. They carried with them their greatest treasures, their valued manuscripts and paintings.

From across the Tibetan plateau, Nepal also received the concepts of Kashmiri Saivism. The valley of Kathmandu was like a crucible where the philosophical ideas from eastern India met those from Kashmir. Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal appear similar and there are no definite lines to separate them. At the Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, we see many Siva-lingas with Buddhas carved on them. A massive vajra (thunderbolt) made here represents the Vajrayana form of Buddhism.

Colossal Buddha, Polonnaruva. The benign presence of the Buddha dominates the landscapes of Sri Lanka. The tradition of “Brhad”, or colossal, Buddha is first seen in the 5th-6th centuries in the caves of western India. It spread soon to many Asian countries.  

Bhutan, the small mountain kingdom, has maintained its seclusion and the privacy of its Tantric Buddhism. Guru Padmasambhava is believed to have descended here on the back of a flying tigress. He cleansed the land of the evil spirits that hindered the spread of Buddhism. Even today, he is the most beloved deity who is worshipped in his many manifestations and forms in Bhutan.

Bhutan has preserved the sanctity of the art of religious painting. It is the one land where paintings are made with deep reverence and meditative care. As in the ancient tradition, the aim of the painter is not to make a work of art; it is an act of faith to represent with devotion the aspects of eternal truth.

Buddhism travelled on the Silk Route from India along with caravans of goods. It went to China from Central Asia, through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Around the dreaded Taklamakan desert is a string of oases, the source of life in the arid lands. These have many Buddhist caves, which mark the early progress of Buddhism and Indic art to Central Asia and China.

Dunhuang, Mogao Cave No. 45. Seated Buddha in the main shrine, with a group of monks and protectors. The statues are painted, as were all sculptures in ancient Indic traditions. Almost 500 caves survive at this vast site, which has one of the largest treasures of Buddhist art in the world.  

The names of great scholars and translators illuminate the passages of the Buddhist history of China. The most outstanding of these was Kumarajiva of the 4th century. He was the son of a Kashmiri Pandit, Kumarayana, and Princess Jiva of Kucha. At the age of nine, his mother brought him to Kashmir where he studied Buddhism for many years.

Dunhuang, Mogao Cave No. 45. Seated Buddha in the main shrine, with a group of monks and protectors. The statues are painted, as were all sculptures in ancient Indic traditions. Almost 500 caves survive at this vast site, which has one of the largest treasures of Buddhist art in the world.  

On his return to Kucha, he translated more than 40 important Buddhist texts, including the Lotus Sutra, into Chinese. These remain the most important texts of Buddhism in China and Japan.

The well-known author Dr. Shu Suyun notes: “His [Kumarajiva’s] grasp of the Sanskrit language and Chinese are so perfect, and his translation is so erudite and beautiful. Even today, when there are so many translations available, if you ask Chinese monks which translation they prefer, they would tell you it is Kumarajiva’s. Even I find his translation very enchanting.”

Kinkaikuji, Buddhist Temple, Kyoto. The Golden Pavilion here was originally built in 1397 as a villa. It was made into a temple in the early 15th century. After a disastrous fire, the present structure was built in 1955.  

Buddhism and its art were accepted wholeheartedly all over Central Asia and China. From here, the message of the Buddha travelled further to Korea and Japan. In the far-east, Japan is the most distant land that received the influences of Buddhism and Hinduism.

The philosophy of deities and aesthetics, which was developed in India, has been nurtured in Japan. More than any other in the world, the culture of Japan is sensitive to the beauty of everything that is around us. The effect of peace and harmonious feeling that this appreciation of beauty brings to people is best understood in Japan.

Buddhism is a great culture of peace and ethical living. This is a vision of life that takes us away from the noise and painful confusions of the material world: it teaches us to shed our desires for illusory attractions. Its message is to look within, to the great peace and joy that are to be found there. Like all Indic faiths, this is a message of universal love and does not preclude the adoration of deities of other faiths.

Source: Frontline

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS: BENOY K. BEHL

Bodhisattva, mural, Sumtsek, Alchi, Ladakh. Early Indic art does not strive to present photographic reality. Its purpose is to present the grace that underlies all of creation. This graceful bodhisattva moves us and elevates us through the marvellous lines of his form.  

THE second millennium brought repeated invasions of the plains of northern India from across the borders to the north-west. Gradually, the whole of North India came under Muslim rule. The new rulers were not very sympathetic to the local faiths. In fact, they sometimes mistook the vast complexes of the Buddhist universities for military establishments. By the end of the 12th century, Nalanda, Vikramashila and other Buddhist mahaviharas were all destroyed by the invaders.

With the destruction of the great monasteries, Buddhist monks fled to the Himalayas, taking as many texts as they could with them. Thereafter, the Buddhist faith in India was nurtured in the Himalayas and beyond. Hindu worship, on the other hand, was carried out within homes and in small temples: the practice continued and a few isolated temples survived in the northern plains.

The trans-Himalayan region is a vast and cold desert. This area is surrounded by the tallest mountains of the world and is sparsely populated. In this high and arid land, which consists of Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur (in present-day Himachal Pradesh) on the Indian side and Tibet, life is hard and survival itself is a constant challenge. The form of Buddhism that came to these high-altitude regions was the Vajrayana, which had evolved in the later period of the Nalanda university and flourished thereafter in the Vikramashila university.

FIRST DIFFUSION

Flying figures, painted sculpture, Sumtsek, Alchi. From the earliest times of Indic art, graceful flying figures, or apsaras, are made bringing garlands and offerings to the deities.  

In the 8th century, the Buddhist teacher Santaraksita from Nalanda set up the framework for a monastic order in Tibet. However, he found that the people of the Tibetan plateau continued to live in fear of evil spirits and would not easily take to the new faith. In A.D. 747, at his suggestion, Guru Padmasambhava, also of Nalanda, was invited to help spread the Buddhist faith in Tibet. The story of Padmasambhava’s successful conversion of the people of the trans-Himalayan lands survives even today as the greatest legend of the region. The guru swept across the mountains, performing the Cham, or the masked spiritual dance of Vajrayana Buddhists. He purified the land, from Ladakh (in Jammu and Kashmir) in the west, through Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Tibet and Nepal up to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, and made it ready for Buddhism. This is known as the First Great Diffusion of Buddhism.

From A.D. 836 to 842 came a dark period in the history of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas. King Langdarma of Guge, who was opposed to the new religion, persecuted Buddhists. Buddhist scriptures were burnt and temples were razed to the ground. When King Yeshe ’Od (A.D. 947-1024) came to the throne of Guge, his kingdom consisted of the present Indian territories of Ladakh, Spiti and Kinnaur, and Guge and Purang in western Tibet. By then, Buddhism had declined in the trans-Himalayas. What troubled the king most was that even the little practice of the religion, which continued in small pockets, was a decadent and corrupted form of the original faith. Around A.D. 975, the king sent 21 young scholars to Kashmir, which was then one of the greatest centres of Buddhism, to learn the pure faith and to bring back that knowledge and the scriptures. These young men set out, full of zeal and ardent desire, but the journey was long and difficult. Nineteen of them died during the journey.

Of the two scholars who survived the journey to Kashmir and came back after many years, one was Rinchen Zangpo (A.D. 958-1055), who was to become famous for all time to come as Lohtsawa, “the Great Translator”. Rinchen Zangpo supervised the construction of many monasteries and temples set in the midst of the vast spaces of the trans-Himalayan desert. These were to become exquisite jewels of the faith.

SECOND DIFFUSION

Rinchen Zangpo, mural, Alchi, 12th century. He supervised the construction of many monasteries in the trans-Himalayan desert.  

The Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas, which began on the orders of King Yeshe ’Od and Rinchen Zangpo, was a new dawn of the faith on the Roof of the World. The light of knowledge that they brought was to continue forever in these vast regions. The legendary 108 temples constructed in this period across the kingdom of Guge became the backbone of the revival of the faith and remain the most revered and, in fact, beloved monasteries of the people of these lands. There are many local legends, sometimes even magical stories, describing how these beautiful monastic temples were constructed in a short space of time.

Yeshe ’Od and Rinchen Zangpo wished not only to re-establish the Buddhist faith in the trans-Himalayas but also to ensure that it was the true knowledge of the scriptures that would form the basis of this renaissance.

Buddhas, mural, chorten interior, Mangyu, Ladakh. These exquisite flying figures present the medieval Buddhist tradition of Indic painting in its delightful form.  

Rinchen Zangpo spent several years in Kashmir, completing his own education and guiding his disciples. In the 4th century, in the Buddhist centres of Kashmir, the Yogacharya school of thought had developed. It was believed that the most effective method for the attainment of the highest truth was through meditation, or “Yoga”, which means to become “one with the eternal”. The different aspects of the wisdom of the Buddha were personified as the five Buddhas: Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi and Vairocana. Vairocana, who symbolises the mirror-like wisdom of the Buddha’s enlightenment, is the Supreme Buddha in the Yoga Tantras.

Vairocana is a mere name for the interdependent nature
of everything in the universe.
Clearly know that all dharmas
Are without any existence in their own being.
To understand the nature of dharma in this way
Is to see Vairocana.

(Avatamsaka Sutra)

Mandala deity, Sumda temple complex. On the left bank of the Indus, in Leh district of Ladakh, are the closely contiguous monasteries of Alchi, Sumda and Mangyu. These are contemporaneous and display the art of the Kashmiri artists brought by Rinchen Zangpo.  

From the 8th-9th century until around the 12th century, the system of Yoga Tantra was predominant in Buddhism in eastern India and Kashmir. From here it spread to Nepal, Tibet, Korea, Japan and Indonesia. The texts of the Yoga Tantras were expounded and translated by Rinchen Zangpo. Particular emphasis was given to the Sarva Tathagata Tattva Samgraha (the symposium of the truth of all Buddhas), which is the root text of the Yoga Tantra and the Durgatiparisodhana Tantra (purifier of evil rebirths). These formed the basis of the sculptural programme and paintings in the many monasteries of the Second Diffusion.

Yeshe ’Od and the subsequent kings who patronised the making of these monasteries invited artists from Kashmir to build them and make the marvellous paintings and sculptures inside them. The painters and sculptors from Kashmir brought with them a highly sophisticated form of art, which was deeply rooted in the classical Sanskrit texts of India. The masters from Kashmir would have also trained local artists and there was a blending of the local idioms with the developed styles coming from Kashmir.

Since time immemorial, Kashmir was known as Sharada Peeth, the “seat of the Goddess of Learning”. In the 7th century, when the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited India, Kashmir was a flourishing centre of Buddhism, which rivalled in importance Magadha, the area in which the Buddha had lived and preached. Xuanzang found many stupas and thousands of monks in the valley of Kashmir. He stayed here and studied under a renowned Kashmiri teacher. In the 8th century, King Lalitaditya’s capital, Parihaspura, was one of the great centres of Buddhism in the world. Magnificent stupas were built here by the king and by Chankuna, his Tokharian minister. A mural of the 12th-13th century in a temple of the Alchi monastery displays what may have been the architectural style of the stupas of Kashmir at that time.

PAINTED SPLENDOUR

Vajralasya, clay sculpture, Tabo, Spiti.  

In the midst of the barren stretches and vast, bleak mountains, the monasteries of Rinchen Zangpo were made on small and fertile patches of land in the valleys of the rivers that flow through the trans-Himalayas. Entering these structures, one comes into a world of painted splendour. The sculptures and paintings made in these monasteries are among the most sophisticated and finest pieces of art.

In the Indian philosophy of aesthetics, it is believed that the ecstasy we experience on seeing something truly beautiful, whether it be in nature or in art, is akin to Brahmananda, which is the final bliss of salvation. The moment of the experience of beauty is one of the highest states, in which man senses his kinship with the whole of creation: a state in which the soul shakes off its material attachments and feels the bliss of unity with the divine. Thus, the ecstatic response to beauty was seen as a glimpse of the realisation of truth itself.

Painted ambulatory, Dukhang, Tabo. Buddha figures and Bodhisattvas are painted upon the walls of the ambulatory, from the floor to the ceiling.  

This philosophy was most fully developed in Kashmir. In the 10th century, around the time of Rinchen Zangpo’s visit to the valley, Abhinavgupta, one of the greatest aesthetician- philosophers of India, lived in Kashmir.

In that period, Saivism and Vajrayana Buddhism there were permeated deeply by the philosophy of aesthetics. The surviving art of the monasteries of the Second Diffusion brings us some of the most sublime manifestations of this philosophic outlook in art.

Since the period of the Guptas and the Vakatakas, the hallmark of the finest Indian art was the deep and inward look on the faces of the figures. The art of these monasteries continues this sublime tradition. What makes the paintings and sculptures here unique is a sense of lilting grace, which awakens a sense of joy within us. The art of these early trans-Himalayan monasteries takes us far from the noise and clamour of the material world to a deep fount of peace and beauty, which lies within each of us.

The faith in Tibet

The Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh.  

The Second Diffusion was consolidated in the trans-Himalayas by the coming to western Tibet of Dipankara Srijnana, or Atisa, who was one of the luminaries of the Vikramashila university. He was persuaded to come to western Tibet in A.D. 1042 by Byang-Chub ’Od, the grandnephew of Yeshe ’Od. One of Atisa’s lasting contributions was that he emphasised the necessity of a solid tradition of teaching in the monastic system and created a firm foundation for the transmission of knowledge from master to student. Atisa’s closest disciple, Bromston, founded the Kadampa order of Tibetan Buddhism. In later years, other orders were established, as prominent teachers attempted to reform and keep pure the traditions of the faith in Tibet, according to the texts and precepts of Buddhism that had identifiable sources in the great mahaviharas of India. The lineage of teachers became pre-eminently important in this context.

After three years in western Tibet, Atisa moved to central Tibet, where he lived until his death in A.D. 1054. In the meantime, with the dwindling fortunes of the rulers of western Tibet, the political centre of power shifted to central Tibet. In times to come, central Tibet became the hub of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas. With the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and universities in India, by the 13th-14th centuries, Lhasa became one of the prominent centres of Buddhism in Asia.

In the meanwhile, as far east as the distant mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, the philosophy of Vajrayana Buddhism was nurtured and kept alive. Arunachal Pradesh is among the few places where the original Nyingmapa sect of Buddhism, which was established under Guru Padmasambhava, continues even to this day.

The Tawang monastery, one of the largest in the world, was established in the 17th century. It belongs to the Gelugkpa sect, which was founded at the end of the 14th century. Its mural paintings were recently remade by Buddhist painters from Bhutan. Along with the monastery at Tawang, Ani Gompa, a nunnery, was set up on a nearby hill. In its seclusion, this nunnery preserves its gentle atmosphere and deeply religious traditions.

GOMPAS OF SIKKIM

Cham, the masked ritual dance of the lamas.  

Sikkim, or “Sukhim”, means the land of peace. There are around 200 monasteries, or gompas, spread across Sikkim. These are central to the lives and the culture of the deeply religious people. These belong to the early sects of Himalayan Buddhism: Nyingmapa and Kagyupa.

The most prominent among these is the Dharma Chakra Centre, or Rumtek monastery, near Gangtok, which is the present seat of the Kagyupa sect. This sect evolved from the teachings of Atisa, of the Vikramashila university, who taught Buddhism in Tibet in the 11th century. In the high-altitude Yumthang region of Sikkim, the monasteries of Lachen, Lachung and others preserve the sacred tenets of the Nyingmapa sect. Buddhists in these mountain regions write their prayers upon flags. They believe that the offerings of their prayers are taken by the wind and spread throughout the world.

The land of Orissa was a great centre of Vajrayana Buddhism in medieval times. Scores of stupas and remains of vast mahaviharas speak of a glorious Buddhist history. It is in the villages of Naupatna and Maniabandha that we see the continuance of Buddhist traditions. The weavers of this region are famous for their tie-and-dye fabrics. This community has continued to worship the Buddha. As in medieval times, the adoration of the Buddha is carried out with songs of devotion. The purpose is to lose all fretful concerns in the ecstasy of the search for the Truth.

Ladakh, the land of high mountain passes, is nestled between the Himalayas and the Karakoram range. Here, eternity is never beyond the vision of man. The Buddhist faith arrived here in ancient times. It brought with it belief in the harmony of the whole of creation; the belief that the transitory world around is an illusion, maya or mithya. We must lift the veils of this illusion to see the truth beyond: the truth of our oneness with all that there is.

In a life which is constantly imbued with a consciousness of the eternal, the gompas play an essential part in the life of the people. These are, in fact, the centres of all village activity. The lamas are deeply respected and loved. Prayers are a constant refrain in everyday life.

The gentle traditions of Buddhism are continued by the people of Ladakh. Their prayer wheels are meant to unite the body, the mind and words in harmonious prayer. Mantras, or sacred chants, are written on scrolls of paper and these are kept inside the prayer wheels. These prayers are recited while turning the wheel.

Tholing Monastery, Western Tibet. Founded by Rinchen Zangpo in A.D. 996, the monastery was once Ngari’s most important monastic complex. Inside the monastery, there were seven main temples, including the Golden Temple, the White Temple and an assembly hall. Today four main buildings survive: the Red Temple, the Golden Temple, the Lhakhang Karpo (or the White Temple) and the Serkhang.  

Thus, the faithful remain fully absorbed in thoughts and deeds related to that which is beyond. Chortens, or stupas, guard the entrances to the villages. They remind us that the land is truly blessed by the prayers and deeds of the faithful over the years.

The valley of Zanskar is an enchanted land. It is snowbound and cut off from the rest of the world for most of the year. It preserves ancient Buddhist traditions. The Sani stupa here was originally made in the 1st century by Emperor Kanishka. The ceaseless noise and clamour of the modern world has not yet intruded life here. In the peace of the mountains, it is the deeper meanings of life that are constantly before us.

The Spiti valley presents a vast and majestic landscape. It has azure blue skies, mountains of unimaginable hues, and bushes of wild roses that fill the air with fragrance. Here too, the high mountain passes, which connect this valley to the rest of the world, remain snowbound for half the year. As one can imagine, life is extremely hard. The culture of this region is steeped in the compassion of the Buddhist faith.

The chos-khor, or temple complex, of Tabo in Spiti was founded in A.D. 996. This is the earliest functioning monastery and is believed to have been founded by Rinchen Zangpo.

Buddhism is a science of the mind: it addresses the deepest causes of sorrow and pain in the world. All sorrow comes from within us and is based upon the negative emotions of greed and attachments. This faith helps us to understand ourselves, to rise in enlightenment to the Buddha nature within us: to be free from the emotions that constantly disturb us and liberate the inner joy in each of us.

SPIRITUAL DANCE

The Cham, the spiritual dance of the lamas, signifies the victory of knowledge over ignorance. In Buddhist thought, the greatest evil is the ego. It is that sense of the self which is the greatest illusion that we must lose in order to gain true knowledge. The lamas spend many days in preparation for the Cham: the goal of their deep meditation is to realise the essential oneness of the deities with their own nature.

On the day of the Cham, they are to lose their own identity, to be transformed into the deity upon whom they focus. For on the sacred ground it will not be the lamas but the deities who will dance.

Bodhisattva, range-rig-rste monastery, Charang, Kinnaur. Such Kashmiri wooden sculptures of the end of the first millennium are rare today.  

The Cham masks cover the ordinary, day-to-day nature of the men and present instead the qualities of the deities within them. There are peaceful masks and those with wrathful expressions. Finally, both symbolise the emptiness of the ultimate nature of all appearances.

All aspects of the Cham carry deep spiritual meaning and significance. The Lords of the Cemeteries are seen as raucous skeletons. They remind us of the intrinsic impermanence of all earthly matter. They beat a linga, or effigy, upon the ground. This represents the ego. Understandably, as the linga thrashes about, the crowd of onlookers cower in fear of its touch. Finally, the linga is dismembered and cut into pieces with the dagger of transcendent wisdom. Once the ego is destroyed, consciousness is liberated eternally.

The Cham is believed to cleanse the land of all negative thoughts and forces. The onlookers are brought to a heightened awareness of their true inner nature. For the eternal moment of the Cham, earthly reality is suspended: desires and suffering are forgotten as the deities dance, blessing every being.

Vajrayana Buddhist thought is believed to have the clarity and indestructible nature of a diamond as well as the striking nature of a thunderbolt. Its purpose is to free us and to dispel the veils of ignorance with the force of a clap of thunder. The meditating monks perceive an inner reality far more true than the illusion of the material world around.

Source: Frontline

Vehicles of peace

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL

Sculpted beam, stupa railing, Kankali, Mathura region, 2nd century B.C. The pulsating vine of the abundance of the natural order is carried by human figures as it courses through the world, bringing with it the wealth of nature.  

THE story of Buddhist art is a fascinating journey, taking us on the path of true knowledge, away from the illusions of the world. The earliest monuments of the Buddhist and Jaina faiths have a sublime representation of the spiritual quest: moving from the multiplicity of the forms of the world to the simplest form, the stupa. The railings around the stupa symbolically marked the space where we left behind the confusions and attachments of the world. Inside, we were to meditate upon the inner truth.

The gateways of the railings depicted the fertility of the world of forms. These were “birth-gates” through which the “many” emanated from the “One”. They were also the gateways for the reintegration with the One. (The garba-griha, or “womb-chamber”, echoes the same concept of the One from whom everything emanates.) The yakshis sculpted on the gateways presented the vital forces and beauty of the natural order around us, and here we saw all this in its true context. Maya, or mithya, thus became the first personified representation in Indian art, the precursor to deities. Of these early presentations, Lakshmi lustrated by elephants, representing the generous fertility of the world of forms, proved to be among the most endearing and has continued to be depicted to this day.

Scholars such as the American art critic Thomas McEvilley who have studied pre-Socratic Greek philosophy point out similarities between the Greek and Indic traditions. Ananke, the early Greek goddess of bonds, is a similar deity, who creates the chains of our attachments to the multiplicity of the world.

Padmapani, Mahoba, 11th century A.D., Lucknow State Museum. The Bodhisattva Padmapani, the bearer of the lotus, is the embodiment of compassion. The figure sits gracefully, in a posture that has come to be known as “royal ease”.  

Besides the prolific representations of Maya, the fruitful abundance of nature, other deities gradually came into being in Indic art. Indra and Surya came to be seen in the 2nd century B.C. in the Buddhist caves at Bhaja. A 1st century B.C. Buddha from the Mathura region is among the earliest sculptures of the Enlightened One.

By the 1st century A.D., a large number of deities were created in northern and central India. These included the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Jaina Tirthankaras, Siva, Vishnu, Kartikeya and Lakshmi. They were the personifications of concepts and qualities. We were to look upon them to awaken the qualities within ourselves and eventually be filled with those and become one with the deity.

The site of the Vikramashila university, Bihar. The final developments in India of Buddhist philosophy and logic took place in the environs of the university, not very far from present-day Bhagalpur. The many temples and stupas that were constructed here included those built by Tibetan devotees. Atisa, who was to play a pivotal role in the development of Tibetan Buddhism from the 12th century onwards, was at this university.  

By the Gupta period, from the 4th to the 6th century A.D., sublime deities were made in all Indic faiths. Their purpose was to transport us through their grace and beauty to a realm of inner peace and joy. The pain and confusing attachments of the material world were to be left behind as we responded to the tranquil gaze of the figures. The Buddha personified the stillness within us, undisturbed by the desires and pains of the world: a state in which the armies of Mara have been defeated. The true victory is over the restless mind. Behind the half-closed eyes, the look is within, to the endless realm of peace to be found there.

In the Buddhist caves of this period, at Ajanta, we see the reshaping of the path of the philosophic quest. Earlier, the heart of the cave, deep within the hill, presented the grandeur of simplicity. Now it is the beauty and grace of harmonious form t

Leogrph, terracotta plaque, Vikramashila site. As the dynamism of the intellect came to the fore in the spiritual path, such rearing creatures became widely prevalent in the art of all Indic faiths.  

Chitrasutra, the treatise on art, which was penned during this period, states that the purpose of art is to convey the essence and harmony of the whole of creation. It says that art made with the understanding of this grace, which underlies all that there is, has a deep and transforming influence upon the viewer. It is more valuable, it says, than worldly possessions.

Cave 26 is a grand chaitya-griha, or prayer hall, perhaps the last excavation at Ajanta. The Buddha is made within a stupa and sits, with pendant legs, upon a throne. The Maitreya Buddha, who is yet to incarnate in the world, is often made in this fashion. The circumambulatory path around the shrine is carved elaborately.

THE EXCAVATED RUINS of the ancient university of Nalanda, Bihar. In the entire history of the development of Buddhist philosophy, there is a supreme place of importance for the Nalanda Mahavihara.  

On the left wall of the cave is a marvellous depiction of the Buddha’s victory over the armies of Mara. These forces represent the turbulence and confusion of the mind. Mara’s daughters, depicted below, represent our desires that keep us bound to a life of pain in the material world. The Buddha is serene as he rises above all these and is ready for enlightenment.

A profoundly moving scene is that of the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha, when he finally achieves release from the mortal world. This is one of the grandest, yet most sensitive, depictions in all of Buddhist art. The figure of the reclining Buddha is about 22 feet (6.6 metres) long and is best viewed from near his feet. Ananda, his disciple, sits at his feet, desolate at the loss. To the solemnity and grandeur of the noble achievement of Mahaparinirvana, Ananda adds a human touch, which is unforgettable.

THE BUDDHA, NALANDA, late-6th/early-7th century A.D. This dynamic outlook is represented in the changing styles of art, from the post-Gupta period onwards.  

A number of grand viharas (residences of monks) were excavated in this period. These are considerably larger than the earlier viharas and are painted profusely. In fact, practically every inch of the wall and the ceiling space was originally covered with fine paintings. Early literature has many references to such halls of murals. The ones at Ajanta form a priceless collection as they are the only surviving significant body of ancient paintings. These exquisite murals are also among the greatest treasures of the Buddhist heritage.

Earlier, the path to nirvana, the extinguishing of the illusory self, or the ego, was a personal exercise, through self-discipline and constant endeavour. It was a path of renunciation, through which we were to lose gradually our attachment to the attractions of the material world. Many would have found this path difficult to follow and, in time, helpful Bodhisattvas were conceived. These were beings on the way to enlightenment who delayed their own nirvana to help others on the path. They could be prayed to for help. This was a significant change in the practice of Buddhism. The new school, which followed this path, came to be known as Mahayana, or the Great Vehicle.

THE FIRST UNIVERSITIES

In the meantime, vast universities came up under the benevolent patronage of the Gupta and Pala kings, who patronised establishments of all faiths. The size and splendour of these, which is discernable from the remains of the Nalanda and Vikramashila Mahaviharas, is amazing. The Nalanda university’s grandeur and rigorous academic atmosphere are also brought alive by the writings of the 7th century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who spent many years studying under the learned Shilabhadra and others there.

A section of the Nalanda Mahavihara. The qualities of Buddhahood were personified in the vibrant style of art that was created in the university’s intellectual atmosphere.  

At these, the first universities known to man, the endeavour was to understand fully the many qualities of Buddhahood, or Enlightenment, and to create logical paths that could be followed by the seekers in order to attain the final knowledge. The qualities of Buddhahood were personified in a pantheon of deities. By meditating upon the personified qualities, a worshipper was to imbibe the virtues presented. Having attained those qualities, one became that deity.

METHOD OF YOGA

By the 4th century, the method of Yoga or Yogatantra was established in Indic thought. It was a graded path of evolution, through discipline and meditation. In the art of the Buddhist faith, Cave 90 of the early 6th century, at Kanheri, has the earliest surviving mandala, which presents such a graded path. The Buddha at the centre represents the final or universal Truth. The Buddhas and other figures around him are the personifications of wisdom and compassion, which lead us to the ultimate knowledge at the centre.

Again at Kanheri, in Cave 41, belonging to the late 5th or early 6th century, is the first known depiction of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara with 11 heads, presenting a view of the more detailed iconography that was developing. On either side of the veranda of the early Cave 3 are made colossal Buddhas, over 22 feet tall. This was the beginning of the tradition of Brhad, or colossal, Buddhas, which spread near and far.

YAKSHI, STUPA RAILING, Kankali, Mathura region, 2nd century B.C., Mathura State Museum. The trees and the fruit of the natural world spring forth at the touch of the yakshi.  

The Buddhist caves at Ellora were made in the 7th century. These are the largest Buddhist excavations to be carried out in India. They also reflect the developments in iconography. From the simple, ethical message of the original teachings, the doctrine had become much more complex. Sculptural panels with Bodhisattvas were increasingly used to carry the iconographic message.

The 8th century saw the founding of the Pala dynasty, which ruled over most of Bengal and Bihar until the 12th century. It was a period of flourishing trade and prosperity. The Palas were patrons of monasteries and art. Towards the end of the 8th century, Dharmapala founded the Vikramashila university, which was to rival the importance of Nalanda itself, in present-day Bihar. By this time, Buddhism had entered its third major phase: the Vajrayana school.

Yakshi, Bharut stupa railing, 2nd century B.C., Indian Museum, Kolkata. This deity is the earliest personification of overflowing wealth in the art of all Indic faiths.  

In the earlier Buddhist thought, liberation was possible only through several lifetimes of effort. The Vajrayana offered the possibility of nirvana in a single lifetime. At the heart of this system was the teacher-initiate relationship, where the seeker was guided by his teacher. Complex rituals, mantras or chants, and mudras or hand movements, of Vajrayana Buddhism were codified in the form of tantras. Tantra literally means to “carry on knowledge”.

Dynamism of the intellect

The emphasis in this period was on the intellectual quest. This is constantly reflected in the art. Art in the previous period was naturalistic. Its focus was on a gentleness that moved us and dissolved our sense of the ego; which transported us through grace and ecstasy. The purpose of art remained the same in this period. However, the dynamism of the intellect, which analyses the processes of the realisation of the truth, came to the fore.

The many qualities of Buddhahood and the steps on the path to enlightenment came to be studied and presented in great detail. The qualities that move us towards a realisation of the Truth were presented in a manner that left no room for ambiguity or doubt. This was Vajrayana Buddhism, the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt, whose logic was “as striking as a clap of thunder”. It was also “as indestructible as a diamond”.

SAMVARA, RATNAGIRI, 8TH century A.D., Patna State Museum. In the Pala period, the pantheon of personified deities became larger and more complex. The effort was to depict highly sophisticated ideas in clear and unmistakable detail.  

In this period of great intellectual vigour, the deities represented complex paths of realisation. One of the most remarkable qualities of the art and philosophy of this time is the intellectual freedom which it represents. There appears to be no limit to the diverse presentations of the personal visualisations of the deities.

We see from the numberless variations in the mandalas and in the deities that there was great freedom of thought and expression. Great teachers from Nalanda and Vikramashila had different approaches to the path to enlightenment.

As recorded in the surviving traditions of Tibet and the Indian Himalayas, the visit of each teacher from these universities began a new wave of understanding. Each teacher brought fresh nuances to the practice of the faith. Many sects, with different practices, continue their legacies until today. It is a wonderful blend of the continuation of ancient knowledge with the living experience and realisation of each new thinker.

Crowned Buddhas, instead of the earlier bare-headed ascetic figures, began to appear often in Pala times. The crown here denoted the highest spiritual achievement. Wrathful Bodhisattvas also began to appear. These are to awaken the determination and ardent vigour with which the devotee must pursue the search for the Truth and the fearlessness with which one must face the obstacles and confusions on this path. As in the Hindu art of this period, female deities, who are the counterparts of the male ones, become prolific. These were first seen in the caves of western India, in the 6th century.

Metal images were much easier to transport than large stone ones. It is these that travelled to Nepal, Tibet and further northwards, as well as to the countries of South-East Asia. The sculptures transmitted the concepts and styles of Buddhist art far and wide in this period. Advanced forms of Tantric Buddhism were developed and these travelled from here to other countries. The Pala period was one of the greatest ages of vibrant Buddhist thought and humankind’s philosophic quest.

The journey of Buddhist art has brought us to a point where the human form is used to convey ideas that transcend our mortal existence. The subject of the art is the depiction of the essence and not just the optical reality of the world.

As stated in Chitrasutra, the depiction of harmony and beauty has a transforming influence upon the viewer. When we respond to beauty, for that moment we come out of ourselves, our worldly cares and concerns are left behind. In that moment, we are absorbed in the grace that is everywhere in creation.

Source: Frontline

Sacred stupas

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS: BENOY K BEHL

Stupa and Asoka Pillar, Vaishali, Bihar. Emperor Asoka is believed to have redistributed the holy relics of the Buddha and enshrined them in vast stupas across his empire.

THE concept of samsara, the illusory nature of the material world, underlies the Indian philosophic vision. The search is constantly to rise above illusion (maya, or mithya), to seek the truth beyond: to lose our ego and attachments to the objects of the world around us. To see our oneness with all that there is.

Early Indic art embodies these deep philosophic concepts. It takes us on a journey through the development of spiritual thoughts, on a path that seeks the goal of the eternal truth. One of the oldest known sacred forms in India is the stupa. It is seen at Buddhist and Jaina sites from early times. A vast mud stupa of the 8th to the 10th century B.C. was excavated recently near Nalanda.

The stupa is a profound symbolic representation of liberation from the bindings of the material world. Beyond the sculpted gateways (toranas) and railings (vedikas), beyond the great entrances of the rock-cut caves, beyond the surrounding walls of the temples, lies the most sophisticated presentation of the philosophic truth. Here is that which takes our attention away from the multiplicity of the forms of the world to the concept of the formless eternal.

Since early times, stupas were often made by placing a few pebbles one on top of another. As divinity is seen in the whole of creation, it is the focus of our attention upon it which creates an object of worship. All that there is, is a manifestation of the formless eternal, and we may see that truth in any object we choose to. It is the quality of our attention, the desire to see beyond the outward material shapes of the world around us, that is important.

JATAKA, TORANA, GREAT Stupa, Sanchi, 1st century A.D. The stories of the Buddha’s past lives illustrate the qualities of virtuous living. These carvings are a rich record of the lifestyles of the period when they were made.

The concept is explained in Vishnudharmottara, which was penned around the 5th century A.D. It is the oldest known treatise on art and architecture. The high purpose of life, and of art, is to lift the veils of illusion to see the underlying eternal.

Therefore, Vishnudharmottara says, “The best way in which the eternal is to be imagined is without form. For seeing the true world, eyes are to be closed in meditation.”

The simplest form is to focus upon that which is beyond, that which is within. The followers of the Buddha enshrined his mortal remains in a number of stupas. Thus began a tradition that spread to many countries and continues to this day. Later stupas housed the remains of other great teachers, their personal belongings and also Buddhist teachings.

Torana, Great Stupa, Sanchi. The finely carved human and animal figures create a world of grace.

In the 3rd century B.C., Emperor Asoka is believed to have retrieved the Buddha’s holy relics and enshrined them again in stupas that he constructed across his kingdom. The original stupas, at Amravati, Sarnath, Sanchi and Vaishali, were among those made in his time.

Asoka’s monuments had many symbols, such as the “chakra”, which were common to all Indic faiths. The earliest body of Buddhist art, with images of the life of the Buddha and the Jatakas (tales of the previous lives of the Buddha), was made during the rule of the Sunga dynasty, in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. The Sungas worshipped Hindu deities and were benevolent to the Buddhist Sangha.

In early Buddhist and Jaina shrines from the 2nd century B.C. onwards, the focus was on meditation. Forms of the life of the world around us, trees, animals and humans, were made on the railings and gateways. Their representations here help us appreciate all forms of life in their true perspective, to see them as reflections of the formless, eternal truth. Beyond the railings and gateways is the stupa, to point out the truth towards which we must strive, leaving behind the attachments to the world.

Eternal themes

AJIVIKA CAVES, 3RD century B.C., Barabar, Bihar. These are the earliest rock-cut caves in northern India. The chaitya arch is an imitation of the bent-wood architecture of the period.

The aim was to provide release from ego and the cycle of the pain of life. Accordingly, eternal themes were represented in art, and personalities were not shown.

Generalised depictions of men and women were seen along with the natural world. Numerous images of yakshas and yakshis, who embody the abundance and fertility of nature, forces that ensure the continuance of life, were made on the railings and gateways. These embody the spirit of nature and serve to remind us of the divinity that underlies all that is around us. The first formalised deity, seen from the 2nd century B.C. onwards, was Lakshmi, lustrated by elephants. In the meantime, Buddhas, or the Enlightened Ones, were alluded to by symbols of their achievement and presence.

Between the 2nd century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., stupas were made at Sanchi and Bharhut, in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Between the sacred and unadorned form of the stupas and the mundane world beyond, the railings and gateways were made. The railings create a path for the devotee to walk around the stupa. Stories were depicted on the railings to remind the worshipper of the virtuous qualities of the Buddha. Jatakas are used to exemplify the rules of conduct in everyday life.

The focus is not on the personality of the individual Gautama Buddha. The potential of “Buddhahood” within us is represented by symbols. The wheel represents the first teaching of the Buddhist Dharma; the Bodhi tree represents enlightenment; footprints and an umbrella over a vacant space proclaim the presence of an Enlightened One.

INTERIOR, CAVE 10, Ajanta, 2nd century B.C.

From the 2nd century B.C. onwards, in the Western Ghats, near the coast of present-day Maharashtra, another magnificent chapter in Buddhist art began unfolding. Over a period of about a thousand years, more than 1,200 caves were hewn out of the heart of the hills. Most of these were Buddhist. Leaving behind the cares and confusions of the material world, the devotee came to these splendid havens of contemplation.

These caves stand in silent testimony to the peace and majesty of the spirit within us. While homes and even palaces of kings were made of ephemeral materials like wood, those that were made in service to the eternal were carved out of everlasting rock. For almost 2,000 years of known ancient Indian history, it was the eternal truths, beyond the passing illusions, that were the subject of art. Hence, only sacred spaces were made out of lasting material. It is only as late as the 15th century that for the first time plinths of royal structures were made out of stone.

The first phase of the prolific excavation in the Western Ghats was from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. Buddhist prayer halls and viharas for monks to reside in were made under the rule of the Satavahanas and the Kshatrapas. Although these kings revered Hindu deities, they patronised all religious establishments.

There are 22 rock-cut caves at Bhaja, facing the Indrayani river valley in Pune district. The chaitya-griha, or prayer hall, here was made in the 2nd century B.C.

Chaitya means an object of worship: the stupa inside continues to be the focus of devotion. A horseshoe-shaped arch dominates the facade of the cave. The shape was first made, in imitation of wooden architecture, in the Barabar caves (in present-day Bihar) of the Ajivikas. Soon it was to be a pan-Indian motif in Buddhist, Jaina and Hindu monuments. It continued as a decorative motif in Hindu temples even through the medieval period.

In Bhaja Cave 18, we see the earliest representations of Surya (who represents the sun) and Indra. Such depictions of these deities have also been found at Chandraketugarh in eastern India. Indra is revered in both Hindu and Buddhist temples even today.

About 50 kilometres north-west of Aurangabad, in a secluded gorge, are the caves of Pitalkhora. In their time, Caves 3 and 4 here would have been among the grandest Buddhist caves ever made. The conception of the entrance of Cave 4 is magnificent. It is as if the weight of the cave is carried on the backs of life-sized elephants, which have been made in the plinth. This concept continued in later Indian monuments.

On the south face of the range of hills at Bedsa, where the Bhaja caves are located, is another magnificent site of Buddhist excavations. The grand chaitya-griha here is partly hidden from the profane world outside by a large section of the rock, which has been left uncut. In ancient tradition, that which was considered important was always kept away from the glare of common sight. We have to make an effort to attain the joy and peace found inside.

Kesarai Stupa, Bihar. This is one of the largest stupas ever made. In its majesty, it reminds one of the grandeur of the spirit.

The magnificent chaitya-griha here was made in the 1st century A.D. The pillars inside are the earliest-known to rise out of purna-ghatas, or vases of plenty. From this period, this becomes a common motif of Buddhist and Jaina art.

A small group of caves was excavated in the 1st century B.C., overlooking the stream of Ulhas at Kondavane near Karjat. Despite its ruined state, the magnificent facade of the chaitya-griha exhilarates the visitor. The figures made here are delicately modelled and graceful. There is a sense of natural ease in the artistic depictions of these times. The men and women express emotions with freedom and warmth, not often seen in later representations.

At Karle, on a high hill, opposite the range that houses the Bhaja caves, a grand chaitya-griha and viharas were excavated in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. This is the largest of all chaitya-grihas to be carved out of living rock.

SCULPTURE ON EPIC SCALE

Stupas of the 3rd century B.C., Bhojpur, Madhya Pradesh.

These magnificent rock-cut caves are not architecture really but sculpture on an epic scale. One can imagine the enormity of the task of creating vast shrines out of the hill itself. Great care and planning would have been required at every stage of the enterprise. The cutting of the rock began from top to bottom, creating the spaces and leaving stone for pillars to be shaped later. Even as the stone was hewn to create the structures, the finishing of the walls and the carving of detailed sculpture were taken up.

Six couples are sculpted at the entrance to the cave. They are larger than life and filled with robust vitality. These are yakshas and yakshis. They were seen individually in the gateways of the stupas of Bharhut and Sanchi. Here they have come together as mithunas, or loving couples. Their closeness to each other, in natural affection, symbolises the completeness of the world, of the harmony of the natural order.

Another site of the prolific excavation of rock-cut caves is on the four hills close to Junnar in Pune district. These were excavated from the 1st century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. In Greater Mumbai, within the Borivali National Park, is the cave site of Kanheri. This site provides a view of the developments in Buddhist art for a thousand years, from the 1st century A.D. onwards.

The caves at Kanheri present the last expressions of the early rock-cut tradition of western India. This site heralds developments in the iconography of the Buddhist art of the later period.

THE AJANTA SITE

ADORATION OF THE chakra, torana, Great Stupa, Sanchi. (Right) Gajalakshmi, torana, Great Stupa. The abundance and generosity of nature are depicted in numerous representations on the gateways and railings.

About 100 km from Aurangabad, are the 31 rock-cut caves of Ajanta. The caves, formed in a horseshoe-shaped gorge of the Waghora river, were excavated in two phases: first around the 2nd century B.C. and the second around the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. Cave 10 is the earliest chaitya-griha and was made in the 2nd century B.C. The murals found here are the earliest surviving paintings of the historic period in India. They are known to be the fountainhead of the classic paintings of Asia.

The Sunga and Satavahana periods were marked by prolific monument building. The themes and traditions of art formulated then continued in later centuries.

In the meantime, changes were taking place in Indian art in the north of India. In earlier representations, only the railings of stupas and the exteriors of caves presented images of the world as seen around us. In the heart of the mountain, we were to contemplate that which was eternal, that which was within. The stupa was simplicity itself.

By the 1st century B.C., images of deities began to be made in Indian art such as a seated Buddha from Isapur, Mathura, and a Saraswati image from the Jaina stupa at Kankali Tila, also near Mathura. Chitrasutra, of Vishnudharmottara, the oldest known treatise on art, says that images of deities are made to help focus attention on eternal concepts, which are too abstract to be grasped easily.

By the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., numerous images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Jaina Tirthankaras, Siva, Vishnu, Kartikeya and other Hindu deities were created. These followed the earlier models of yakshas and nagas.

The form in which the Buddha was presented was that of an enlightened being, one out of many, with 32 attributes that identified him as such. The long arms and elongated ear lobes, as well as the urna, a mark on the forehead, and the ushnisha on the top of the head are some of the auspicious marks of such a “great being”.

A number of images of seated Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of this period have been found, and these include a fine one from the Katra mound. This was donated by Amoha Asi, a nun, “for the welfare and happiness of all sentient beings”. This is a common wish expressed in donative inscriptions of all faiths in this period.

At Kankali Tila, near Mathura, an image of Surya was found. An architectural fragment from Mathura shows an image of a Siva Linga being worshipped. Several Lingas of this period, with one face and four faces, have been found. Kartikeya is also depicted, carrying a spear. He was later incorporated into the Hindu pantheon as a son of Siva.

While images of deities were coming into being in the art of Mathura, the main focus still remained on stupas, Buddhist and Jaina. As in previous times, the railings and gateways of these stupas presented the boundless fruitfulness of nature and the joy of life. A large number of beautiful yakshis have been found here.

The Kushana rulers had their summer capital at Peshawar, in the Gandhara region, in north-west India. Buddhism reached this area in the 3rd century B.C., as we see from the inscriptions of Asoka. This region was a meeting point of cultures, which travelled on the trade routes from China to the Mediterranean. Concepts of Indic philosophy, which placed emphasis on the renunciation of worldly desires, were new to many here.

Emperor Kanishka held the Fourth Great Buddhist Council in Kashmir in this region. This was the first time that Mahayana Buddhism was given the full support of royal patronage. The council was also significant for making the Sanskrit language the main vehicle for Buddhist scriptures. The Mahayana school of thought, which was far less austere than earlier Buddhism, soon gained popularity in the Gandhara region. It also spread from here to Central Asia and China.

Little remains of the numerous Buddhist monuments that were made in Kushana times in the Gandhara region. However, vast numbers of sculptures of this period have survived. The sculptures of this region show influences of Mediterranean and Persian styles. Instead of the spiritual, idealised forms of the Indic mainstream tradition, these attempt to present the appearance of people in the world and their everyday expressions. The drapery also shows the influence of Western models.

Stupa, 2nd century B.C., Sanchi. Vidisha was an important marketplace in the fertile plains of Central India and was on an ancient trade route to the ports on the western coast. Numerous stupas on the hills around Vidisha testify to the importance of this region in early times.

In early Buddhism, the focus was within oneself, on the potential for enlightenment that is in each of us. In the Gandhara region, the attention was more towards a heroic personality of the Buddha and other Buddhas as distinct individuals. Their help could be sought through prayers. The Jatakas were the subject of the earlier art. These were based on the Indic philosophic view that saw the unity of all of creation and the cycle of births in the world of illusory forms. The population of the Gandhara region was not deeply versed in this philosophy and would have found it simpler to relate to the life of the individual Gautama Buddha.

Beyond the world of forms, the stupa had earlier been kept plain. Now, narrative panels relating the life of the Buddha were placed on it, at the base. The Four Great Events in the Buddha’s life were presented most often. Other incidents and legends from his life were also introduced. Here, the emphasis was more on the drama of life in the ephemeral world. Human life, personified in the Buddha, before and after enlightenment, became the vehicle of the message. Depictions in the Gandhara region significantly dramatised the events of the Buddha’s life and presented them with charged emotions.

The narrative depictions and figures in the art of Gandhara were formulated by the end of the 1st century A.D. The sculpture flourished and was at its best in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The creation of the Buddhist art of Gandhara came to an abrupt end in the 5th century, with the invasion of the Huns. In the meantime, the tradition of art in the northern plains of India continued to evolve. Mathura continued as a vital centre of Buddhist, Jaina and Hindu art. Sculptures made here have been found far and wide.

The portrayal of deities had become central to Indic art. These deities were the personifications of qualities. By meditating upon them, we awaken the best within us. By meditating upon the Buddha, we hope to awaken the Bodhi, or true knowledge, within us.

This concept of deities travelled from India to other countries of Asia. It took root everywhere and to this day the puja, or the worship of deities, continues. These graceful representations move us and transport us far from worldly concerns to a peaceful realm within. They are a path to take us away from the pains created by our desires in the material world.

The history of Buddhist heritage is the story of a great quest of mankind, a quest to leave behind the desires and attachments of the world of illusions, a quest to attain the peace that can only be found within.

Source: Frontline

The great quest

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS: BENOY K. BEHL

Gilded statue of the Parinirvana. Like other sacred places associated with the life of the Buddha, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, where the Buddha attained Parinirvana, rose to be an important place of pilgrimage and, in the course of time, was covered with shrines and monasteries built by Emperor Asoka and others. This is among the four most holy places for Buddhists.  

IT was the beginning of the first millennium B.C. There were many principalities in the northern plains of India. Some of them were Jana-Samghas, ruled by elected councils. In others, the concept of hereditary leaders was evolving. It was a time when great philosophic concepts, which were to last forever, were being crystallised. By the 8th century B.C., the early Upanishads were composed, out of the continuing traditions of the land.

These verses speak of the oneness of the whole of creation. The world of separated forms, which we see around us, is considered to be maya, an illusion. We perceive this illusory world through our senses, which are subjective. The high purpose of life is to transcend these limitations: to lift the veils of illusion and to see beyond, to perceive the unity of all that there is and thereby to break out of the spell of the transitory world. The main illusion, which keeps us bound to the material world, forever seeking its fruits and benefits, is the ego. We imagine ourselves to be distinct and separate entities and forever chase our ambitions and desires. The spell has to be broken to attain the peace of the truth.

In this period, numerous thinkers gave up the attractions of the ephemeral world to pursue the search for the truth. They left behind their material possessions and the emotional bonds with their families to wander homeless. They sought to be free of the endless pursuit of desires in the mundane world. This would give them the opportunity to seek the truth, which was eternal and beyond the passing material illusions.

Monkey brings honey for the Buddha, pillar, North Gateway. Siddhartha realised that depriving his body of nourishment in rigorous self-denial only weakened it and his mind. When he decided to give up his extreme asceticism, a monkey brought honey for him to eat.  

Two of the greatest of these renouncers were Gautama Siddhartha and Mahavira. Gautama is known as the 4th or the 7th Buddha, or ‘Enlightened One’, and Mahavira is known as the 24th ‘Tirthankara’, or ‘Victor’ over the fear of death. Their followers form two of the great religions of the world: Buddhism and Jainism.

Gautama Siddhartha, the son of Suddodhana, the ruler of the Sakya clan, was one of humanity’s wisest teachers. He was born circa 563 B.C. Suddodhana ruled from the town of Kapilavastu, in present-day Uttar Pradesh in India. The site of Kapilavastu has been excavated near the villages of Piprahwa and Ganweria.

It is believed that before Gautama was born his mother, Queen Maya, had a dream. In her sleep, she saw a white elephant entering her womb. Asita, the court astrologer, was told about it. He said, “Queen Maya, you will have a son. He will be destined for greatness, in whichever path he chooses, whether as a great king or as a renouncer and saviour of mankind.” Thus the arrival of a great being was heralded.

Asoka Pillar, Lumbini. This highly polished sandstone pillar commemorates the visit of Asoka to Lumbini, now in Nepal, in the 3rd century B.C.  

Just before she was to give birth, Maya set out for her father’s town, Devadaha. On the way she halted in a grove at Lumbini, which is in present-day Nepal. Here, as she reached up to take support of a branch of a sal tree, a son was born from under her raised arm. The deities Brahma and Vishnu are believed to have been present to receive the child. When he was born, the child took seven steps and said, “I am one who will tread the path taken by others before me.”

Asoka, the great Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century B.C., erected a pillar at Lumbini to commemorate this sacred site. After Gautama’s birth, Maya bathed in a pond and Gautama is said to have been given an abhisheka, or ritual shower, by celestial creatures.

Gautama led a princely life and was kept away from all the pains and miseries of the world. His parents were afraid of the possibility that he may renounce the world to become an ascetic. However, Gautama had a thoughtful nature and an inclination towards meditation.

The Holy Pond in Lumbini, where Queen Maya bathed after she gave birth to Siddhartha. Lumbini is one of the four most venerated places for Buddhists.  

At the age of 29, his life took a different turn. On separate occasions, when he was driven outside the palace by his charioteer, he saw four sights, which set him thinking. He saw a very old and feeble man, an extremely sick man and a dead man being taken for cremation. As he was sheltered from the realities of life, these sights stunned him. He realised that all pleasures were transitory. On a fourth occasion, he saw an ascetic, whose face was serene. Gautama decided to renounce the fleeting pleasures of the world.

In the stillness of the night, Gautama bade a silent farewell to his sleeping wife and son. He left the palace quietly on his horse Kanthaka, accompanied by his charioteer Chandaka. It is said that celestial beings cushioned his horse’s hooves as he rode so that the sound would not awaken the sleeping palace.

Having gone some distance, Gautama cut off his beautiful long hair and took off his ornaments and royal attire. He sent these and Kanthaka back with Chandaka. It is said that Kanthaka, who loved his master very much, turned around for one last look at Gautama. In that moment, Kanthaka’s heart broke and he died.

Cave 2 of Ajanta has a beautiful depiction of the scene of the Buddha’s birth. As Queen Maya raises her hand to hold the sal tree above her, the child is born from her side below the arm.  

For six years, Gautama wandered all over Bihar in his quest for true knowledge. He looked for teachers who may be able to show him the path of release from samsara, the endless cycle of life and death in the illusory world. None was able to satisfy him.

He subjected himself to the severest austerities in the belief that this would elevate the mind. He denied himself food and water until he was reduced to a skeleton. However, the truth remained beyond his grasp.

Seeing the futility of self-mortification, Gautama decided to take nourishment again. This would sustain his body and give him the clarity of mind he desired. He accepted a bowl of sweet rice-milk offered to him by a village girl called Sujata. A grass-cutter offered him a bundle of soft grass on which to sit. Next to the Niranjana river, at the village of Uruvela, Gautama sat down to meditate under a pipal tree. For days he sat in meditation, determined to seek the truth.

Mara and his armies, the personifications of doubts, confusions and temptations, assailed him from time to time. However, he was unshaken in his meditation and his will to escape the desires and pains of the material world. It was a full moon night. Gautama sat under the tree and continued his quest. Finally, his mind dispelled all the darkness of confusion. He fully realised the truth of the cause of suffering and the path to happiness.

After six years of struggle, Gautama attained his goal: he had become a Buddha, one who had gained Bodhi, the knowledge of the truth. One man’s glorious journey in search of enlightenment had concluded successfully. In this was the beginning of a great journey for mankind. Gautama Buddha meditated at the place of his enlightenment and arose after 49 days. He had resolved to preach what he had realised.

Thereafter, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment became one of the most sacred spots. It is today known as Bodh Gaya. A rock edict records Asoka’s visit to Bodh Gaya in the 3rd century B.C. Here, he erected a shrine to commemorate the sacred spot. Under the Bodhi tree, there is still a stone seat, the Vajrasana, which has an inscription of that period. The geese and palmette motif on the seat are also typical of Asoka’s time.

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath. This marks the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon, setting into motion the Wheel of Dharma.  

The site also flourished greatly under the Pala and Sena rulers between the 8th and 12th centuries. Many fine sculptures of this period are preserved in the nearby archaeological museum.

At Sarnath, near Varanasi, the Buddha delivered his first sermon to his five former companions. This event is known as the Dharmachakra Pravartin, or the setting into motion of the Wheel of Law.

The Buddha spoke of Four Noble Truths. He said there is Duhkha, or suffering. There is Samudaya, or the cause of suffering. There is Nirodha, or the removal of the cause of suffering. There is Marg, or the path leading to the removal of the cause of suffering.

“Now, this O monks, is the noble truth of sorrow: from birth it begins; old age causes sorrow; sickness causes sorrow; death causes sorrow; contact with unpleasant things causes sorrow, separation from pleasant things causes sorrow and not getting what one wishes for also causes sorrow.

“Now, this O monks, is the noble truth about the origin of sorrow: sorrow arises from craving, which leads to rebirth and a thirst for sensual delights. Desire leads to the seeking of satisfaction now here, now there – that is to say, the craving for gratification of passions, or the craving for life, or the craving for success… this is the cause of sorrow.

The Himalaya mountains of India. Profound spiritual ideas developed very early in the subcontinent. The beginning of the first millennium B.C. saw the composition of the Upanishads. These crystallised continuing philosophic concepts, whose roots are to be discerned in the earlier river valley civilisations.  

“Now, this O monks, is the noble truth about the removal of sorrow: sorrow shall be gone when desire ceases and no passion remains.

“Now, this O monks, is the noble truth about the way which leads to the removal of sorrow: it is the noble Eight-fold Path.

“This is the path of moderation. It keeps clear of the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. This path is the noble Eight-fold Path of the right views, the right thoughts, the right speech, the right action, the right means of livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation.” Hearing the Buddha’s enlightened words, the five ascetics were at once converted and formed the nucleus of the Buddhist Sangha, or Order.

The Dhamek Stupa is said to stand at the exact place where the Buddha preached to the five ascetics in the deer park. The walls of this stupa are decorated with many beautiful carvings. The date of the present stupa is not certain. However, archaeologists have discovered another, smaller stupa within it. This is believed to have been made by Asoka in the 3rd century B.C.

ASOKA’S STUPAS

Asoka built many great stupas to honour the Buddha. Each of these was called a Dharmarajika stupa, and these contained the holy relics of the Buddha. One of these is at Sarnath.

Sculptures belonging to different periods have also been found at the site, which has continued to be in worship till today. Some of the most beautiful Buddha figures here are of the Gupta period, around the 5th century A.D.

There is a peaceful expression and an inward look that marks the art of this period. Here we see the Buddha in the Dharmachakra Pravartin mudra, setting into motion the Wheel of the Law or Dharma. Asoka also erected many impressive pillars to commemorate events of the Buddha’s life.

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya. The temple is built at the spot where the Buddha gained enlightenment, near Gaya in present-day Bihar. The present structure dates back to the mid-5th century A.D. and is the oldest standing grand building in the Indian subcontinent.  

The Asoka pillar at Sarnath, with its famous capital of four lions, was erected at the place where the Buddha established his first Sangha, the Buddhist congregation. The lion capital of this pillar is the national emblem of the Republic of India.

The Buddha wandered ceaselessly from place to place in present-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He taught dharma to all without any distinction. He and his disciples lived on alms. This wandering life ceased only in the monsoons when the rain came down hard.

The Buddha frequently visited Rajgir, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha. He spent many monsoons preaching there. After he passed away, the First Buddhist Council was convened at this site. Modern-day Rajgir preserves the remains of this ancient past. In these, historians have tried to identify places associated with the events of Buddhist history.

The Buddha preached in the easily understood local dialect of the people. He spoke of universal equality, charity and logical reasoning.

Large numbers flocked to his sermons and became his followers.

At the age of 80, Gautama Buddha headed to Kushinagar in present-day Uttar Pradesh. There he told his close disciple Ananda that his end had come. Ananda was miserable and cried bitterly. The Buddha asked him not to grieve the loss of his master’s ephemeral self. He said, “Dharma is your refuge.”

The Buddha addressed the Sangha one final time and said at the end: “All that comes to existence must fade away. Let your striving alone never come to an end!” The year was 483 B.C. and these were the Buddha’s last words.

Following the Buddha’s Mahapariniravana, his relics were distributed among seven groups of his followers, who enshrined them in stupas. The Pali chronicles tell that Asoka opened these original stupas and redistributed the relics in other stupas across his empire.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the core of the stupas at Sanchi and Amaravati dates back to Asoka’s period. However, building activity continued at these sites. What is visible today does not belong to the Mauryan period.

Since earliest historical times, the kings and the people of this land presented a unique and fascinating culture. There were no portraits of rulers made in ancient India. Asoka does not even mention his own name in most of his edicts. He is just referred to as Devanampiya Piyadasi, “beloved of the divine” and “one whose vision is filled with adoration”.

Besides his visits to many Buddhist pilgrimage sites, he also excavated great caves out of the hills at Barabar in Bihar. These were made for the ascetic sect of the Ajivikas.

Asoka’s inscriptions of the 3rd century B.C. are a remarkable record of a compassionate and cosmopolitan vision: a vision that has not been surpassed by any ruler till today. He says, “His Sacred Majesty does reverence to men of all sects. A man must not do reverence only to his own sect while disparaging the sects of others.”