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Home , Akshobhya, Buddhist art

Buddh ist

Grade Level Grades 6-12

Purpose To explore new obj ec tiv es for art and examine how Chinese pa in tin g refl ec ts Buddhist pr in ciples and to consider the meani ng and significance of Buddhist thro ugh the examination of image s from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Co nce pt s

• Bodhisa tt va—one who po ss ess es the wisdom and power n ece ssary to enter , but has vowed not to take the final step until he has helped a ll sentient beings to sa lv ation • Buddha—the En li ghtened One • —an Asian re li gion based on the t eac hi ngs of Siddhartha Gautama, who b ec ame the Buddha • : The start in g po in t of Buddhist t eac hin gs, pronoun ce d by the Buddha . These are: 1 Life enta il s suffer in g. 2 Su ff eri ng is due to ea rthly att ac hments. 3 Su ff ering can be stopped if the ea rthly a tt ac hments are severed. 4 To sever att ac hments, one must l ea d a disciplined and moral life and engage in meditation. • The —t he path to truth as pr eac hed by the Buddha • “Away from the dusty world”: term for Buddhist sentiment of escap in g the mundane, dai ly experience to a higher plane of awarene ss . • —a s ec t of Buddhism that feature s meditation as a means to enlightenment by dir ec t in tuition (kno wn as in ) • Meditation—cl ea rin g the mind of distr ac tion ( in Japanese) • —a gesture or sign made with the hands • Vertical lands ca pes—a picture composed in an up-and-do wn forma t rather than with a horizontal a rr angement of the s ce ne. • Hangi ng scroll—a strip of material (silk or paper) pa in ted and mounted on paper, that is designed to be hung on a wall o r ro ll ed up for storage.

1 Key Ideas

• The purposes of meditation for the Buddhist • The spirituality that a pa in tin g can emb od y • The Chinese tradition of monks who developed the of pa in tin g, , and poetry • Hands of Buddha and Bodhisa tt vas are sho wn in di ff erent positions • Eac h hand position is signifi ca nt and represents a specific con ce pt in the B ud dhist teac hin gs • Mudras are t ec hnique s for us in g the hands to de li ver a specific message to the viewer

Mater ia ls

• Buddhist Retreat by Stre am and Mountain, 960-985, CM A 1959.348 • Twilight in the W ild erne ss , 1860, CM A 1965.233 • Jizo , 13 th ce ntury, CMA 1983.75 • The Buddha of the Western Paradise, A mida Byorai, 1269, CM A 1960.197 • Des ce nt of the A mida Buddha: Raigo , 14 th ce ntury, CM A 1953.123 • Taima ,, 14 th ce ntury, CMA 1990.82 • Fur th er Di scourses on the Supre me Truth (Abidhar ma kosha-Bhashya) , 1100s, CMA 1916.1060 th • Niga Byakudo: The White Path to the Western Paradise across Two Rivers , 13 ce ntury, CMA 1955.44 • Ni kk o, the Sun , c.800, CM A 1961.48 • Miroku Bosatsu, the Future Buddha , 14 th ce ntury, CMA 1999.195

• Handout: Buddhism • Handout: Mudra

Pro ce dure

1. To in troduce students to the con ce pt of us in g art f or in spiration as Buddhist monks did, consider how art inspires our o wn students. Discuss the foll ow ing questions to prepare for the le ss on: a. Do you have a ny art (e. g. photos, posters) in yo ur home that in spires you? A poster of an athlete, a hero, an inspiring lands ca pe that you “enter” by l ook in g? b. Why do you display the image? What does it do for you? How does it feel for you to be able to l oo k at it when you want to?

2 c. Do you have a ny other tokens of in spiration—objects that you tr ea sure fo r the way they make you feel? that g iv e you ho pe in times of trou bl e? 2. As an example of art students wi ll be more fa mil iar with, and… a. To cont in ue the idea of art as inspiration, b. And to prompt students to notice the typica lly We stern use of color and composition for comparison to the Chinese monochromatic pa in tin g and composition. 3. Tw ilight in the W ild erness CMA 1965.233 by Ameri ca n artist Frederic Edwin Church and discuss: a. How would you descr ib e the m oo d of this pa in tin g—that is, the feeli ngs it co nv eys? b. How does it make you feel o r w hat do you th in k the artist wanted you to feel? c. How do you t hin k Americans of the 19 th ce ntury “felt” when they saw this pa in ting? d. Does it matter that this pa in ti ng was done in 1860, dur in g the Civil War? e. Do you th in k city-dwellers w ou ld appreciate this lands cape more than those who li ved in the w il derne ss ? f. Examine it closely: Where is your eye dra wn? How is color use d? How is the picture compose d? Is it more horizontal or verti ca l in compositio n? 4. Provide some b ac kground with this information provided on the handout. Much more about Buddhism and meditation can be ea si ly found, but a simple explanation of the Four Truths ca n be f ou nd a t the web site li sted. 5. To examine how pa in tin g was used a s inspiration, vie w Buddhist Retreat by Stream and Mountain CM A 1959.348 and discuss these questions: a. How is this lands ca pe differen t from Church’s? b. How does it make you feel (Compare this to Church’s)? c. Where i s yo ur eye dra wn? d. Why upward? What deta il s in the composition inspire us to look up? e. Can you find examples of the “crab-cla w” st yl e, of the “alum-h ea d” st yl e? f. Do you see a ny manmade structures or humans in the pa in ting? W hy do you th in k nature is predominant? g. How do you t hin k a monk who desires rel ea se fr the “dusty world” and to “be in nature” could find inspiration here—as you might by look in g at a poster in yo ur room? 6. View art images that display deities and mudras.

3 7. Discuss the meaning of the mudras in e ac h of the images. 8. Ask students how we use hand gestures for everyday speech (stop, come here); e xh ibit ASL to share some gestures. 9. After discussing and viewing Buddhist mudras, ask students to practice the gestures. 10. Have students form in to groups of thr ee . Pass out strips of paper with single words for example compassion, faith, or f ea rle ss ne ss . Have students come up with “new mudras that co nv ey these abstr ac t con ce pts and present them to the cla ss . The class has to gu ess what the mudras mean based upon wh at they have l ea rned so far.

Enrichment

A. Write a story of yo ur experience of “enter in g” this lands ca pe; na rr ate the s to ry of the path you would take, describi ng wh at you see and experience along the way. B. Contemplate a landsca pe in your home, at a local museum, or in a li brary boo k; “meditate” on the lands ca pe, enter in g it to experience what a Buddhist monk might. Then describe the experien ce : What did you see? Hea r? Smell? Touch? How did you feel? C. Students ca n res ea rch additional mudras thro ugh an Internet s ea rch. D. Work in groups of three or four and have students pr ac tice the hand gestures of the Buddhas in the art images. Ask students to work together to develop hand gestures for the foll ow ing con ce pts: P eace , Comfort/Car in g, Relaxation, Abundance/Wealth, and Tranqu il ity.

Evaluation

A. Descri be your o wn images of in spiration; compare and contrast them with the pa in tin g.

Oh io St ate Sta nd ards

1. Analyze how i ss ues may b e v iewed differently by various cultural groups. 2. Identify the persp ec tiv es of d iv erse cultures when analyzi ng issues. 3. Explain how the char ac ter and meani ng of a pl ac e reflect a society’s ec onomics, politics, social values, and culture. 4. Compare the persp ec tiv es, pr ac tices, and cultural products of past and contemporary civili za tions in order to understand commonality and diversity of cultures.

4 Th is le ss on plan is based on le ss on plans developed by Dana No ble (Sh aker He ig ht s School System, Sh aker He ig ht s, Ohio) and Jack ie Cra nd all (Beachwood School Di strict, Beachwood, Oh io ).

5 Ha nd out

Buddhism is based in part on the Four Noble Truths set do wn by Siddhartha Gautama (about 560-480 BC E), the founder of Buddhism. As presented in the source li sted belo w, they are:

1. Life means suffer in g. 2. The origin of su ff ering is att ac hment. 3. The ce ssation of su ff eri ng is a tt ain able. 4. The path to the ce ss ation of su ff ering…is a gradual path of self-improvement, or sudden enlightenment (Chan) thro ugh meditation.

www .thebigview.com/B ud dhism/fourtruths.html

Chan Buddhists use meditation, the pro ce ss of clear in g of the mind of everyday con ce rns, to f in d self-rea li zation. (Chan is ca ll ed Zen in Japan.) Chan Buddhists be li eve that by dedi ca tin g their li ves to spiritual understandi ng, includi ng thro ugh meditation, they can come to se lf -reali za tion. The Buddhist priests who t eac h monks often give them a , or riddle, to contemplate as they meditate; a famous one is “W hat is the sound of one hand clapping?” As t hey meditate, si tt in g motionless for hours, the monks s ee k spiritual enlightenment. Tho ugh most Buddhist monasteries were built in the m ou nta in s where the quiet and p eac e promotes refl ec tion, Chinese Buddhist monks of the 10 th and 11 th ce nturies sometime s li ved in monasteries that were lo ca ted in cities. The artist Juran moves to the ca pital of the Northern Song Dynasty , Kaife ng, in C E 975 to enter a monastery. Juran and his fellow monks li ve d in the hustle and bustle of a city ca pital, but longed to be in a p eac eful environment. A common expression for this wish was to be “away from the dusty world,” a desire they refl ec ted in their art. Juran spent much of his time meditat in g but also made pa in tin gs with Buddhist themes. He pa in ted Buddhist Retreat by Stream and Mountain to be hung in the monastery so that monks could “enter” the mounta in s and be in spired t o meditate. Notice that Juran used only bl ac k in k in cr ea tin g this pa in ting, so that its b ea uty comes from the way he uses his brush. The artist depicted tr ee s in a traditional manner, us in g a type of brushstroke ca ll ed “crab-claw.” T he mounta in s were pa in ted in an unusual way; termed as “alum-h ea d” stones, they were a hallmark of Juran’s personal st yl e.

6 Na me _

Mudr as are sym bo lic gestures ma de with the fingers and hands. E ac h gesture has a sp ec ific meani ng and represents an im po rtant even t in the li fe and t ea chings of the Buddha. and images of the Buddha sh ow him with di ff eren t mudras, te lling us more a bout the f un ction of the deity.

Abh aya Va rada Power to Grant a Wish Prot ec ti on The arm is extended all the way The right hand is lifted to shoulder- down, with palm facing outward, level. The palm, with fingers fingers extended downward extended upward, faces outward.

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Bhu misparsa Touching the Earth This gesture commemorat es 's victory ov er temptation by the demon . In this gesture, the right hand of the sitting Buddha, supported on his right k nee, touches the lotus seat below, palm inward, fingers extended.

Dhyana Me di tati on

Both hands are placed on the lap, right hand on left, with the fingers fully extended and the palms faci ng upward.

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Na mask ara Jnanam ud ra Pr ay er Teaching The tips of t he index finger and the thumb The two hands are kept close to the are joined and held near the center of the chest, the palm fumed inward. chest, touching palm to palm.

Vitraka

Reasoning Ri ght ha nd points u pw ar d, left do wnwar d. Both palms turned outwar d, with the thumb and index finger on eac h hand formi ng a circle. Right hand at shoulder level, left hand at hip level.

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Dharmachakra Teaching the Law This Mudra com memorat es the first sermon of Buddha in Samath. Both hands are held against the chest, the left facing inward, co ver ing the right faci ng outward, the index fing er and thumb of each hand making a circle.

Dharmachakra Va riati on Teaching

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Standing Sakyam un i Pakis ta n, Ga ndh ara, probably Pe sh aw ar a re a, Ku sh an P eri od (1 st ce ntury- 320) 2nd half of the 2nd Century 1972 .43

Standing Bu dd ha North er n Ind ia , Ka sh mir , or West er n Tibe t, lat e 10t h-ea rl y 11th century c. 998 -1 026 1966 .30

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Ste le w it h S ak yam un i and Bod hisattv as Ch in a, Six Dynast ie s Period (37 1-58 1), Ea st er n Wei Dynas ty (53 4- 549) 537 1914 .5 67

Sak yamuni Buddha Ko re a, Three Ki ngd om s p eri od (57 BC-668 AD ) 6t h- 7th century 1987 .1 88

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Amit ab ha Ch in a, L iao Dynas ty (91 6- 1125) 10th Century 1942 .1 082

Tempta ti on of Bu dd ha by the Evil Forces of Mara Ind ia, Ka sh mir , 8th Centur y 8th Century 1971 .18

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Ak sh ob hy a: The Bu dd ha of the East Ind ia, Kurkihar , B ihar, Pala Pe ri od , 9th Centur y late 800s 1970 .10

Bu dd ha Calling on Earth to Witness Ind ia, B engal, Bihar , Pala Period (750 -1 197) 9th century 1935 .1 46

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Standing Bu dd ha Am it ab ha (Ami t' a) Ko re a, Un if ie d Kingdom (668 - 935) 800s 1988 .34

Seated Sh aka Ja pan , Hei an P eri od (7 94 -118 5) c. 900 1986 .7

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The Bu dd ha of the Western Par ad ise , Ami da Nyor ai Koshun ( Ja panese ), a ss is ta nt Ko sh in ( Japanese ), ass is ta nt Jo shu n ( Ja panese ) 1269 1960 .1 97

Des ce nt of the Ami da Bu dd ha: Ra igo Ja pan , Kamakura P eri od (1 18 5-13 33) 1300s 1953 .1 23

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Sh ot oku Tai sh i as a Ch il d Ja pan , Kamakura P eri od (1 18 5-13 33) early 14th ce ntury 1989 .76

A Preaching Buddha Ja pan, pe ri od (710 -7 94) 8th century 1985 .87

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