An Aesthetic Journey Into the Tibetan Buddhist Meditational Art of Buryatia
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Independent Study Project Title: An aesthetic journey into the Tibetan Buddhist Meditational Art of Buryatia By Carmen Cochior - Plescanu BA Religious Studies and Tibetan Department of Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia, 221618 Word count: 10.000 Under the Direction of Dr. Nathan W. Hill Table of contents Abstract I. Introduction 1.1 Buryatia - the birth of an ethnos , the atmosphere of the art of the steppe II. The introduction of Tibetan Buddhist art to Buryatia 2.1 Buryatia - the vision of Buddhist Art 2.2Account of schools and stylistic interpretation III.III. The accomplishment of Tibetan aesthetic grammar in the Buryat cultural milieu 17- 18thth centuries IV. Decomposition and regeneration of Buddhist Art and its revival throughout the 19 thth century 4.1 The survival of Buddhist Art during the Russian Protectorate V. The Great Revival - the reaffirmation of Buddhist aesthetics in Buryatia 19th to 20 thth century VI. Afterword and acknowledgements 6.1 Tibetan-styled thangkas,, tsakli, illuminations and dedications from the Matvei Nikolaevich Khangalov History Museum of Buryatia List of Figures ii The Tree of Diagnosisis, Atlas of Tibetatan Medicicine, Histotory Museum of Buryatia iiii Kalalakuta or Halalahaha, poisison inincarnrnatate, AtAtlas of TiTibetatan Medicinine,e, History Museum of Buryatia iiiiii The Palace of the Healing Buddha, detail, Museum of Buryatia. iviv The TrTree of DiDiagnosisis, detatailil, AtAtlalas of TiTibetatan Medidicicine, HiHiststororyy Museum of Buryatia vv Ritual Preparation of Rejuvenation Elixirs, Atlas of Tibetan Medicine,e, of Buryatia vivi A sseet oof ffoouurr tsakli depictiting Garuruda, Gubibilha, Kururukulla andd Vajravarahi, Buryatia, 19thth century viivii Guandi - Geser, Painting on cotton, Buryatia, late 18thth century viii Lhamo - Painting on cotton 18-19thth century ixix Vaishravana also known as ‘Vaishravana and the Eight Horsemen’ - Painting on cotton, Buryatia, 18th century xx Śākyamuni Buddha - Painting on cotton, late 18thth - early 19thth century VII. Bibliography 22 Abstract I. Introduction 1.1 Buryatia - the birth of an ethnos , the atmosphere of the art of the steppe II. The introduction of Tibetan Buddhist art to Buryatia 2.1 Buryatia - the vision of Buddhist Art 2.2Account of schools and stylistic interpretation III.III. The accomplishment of Tibetan aesthetic grammar in the Buryat cultural milieu 17- 18thth centuries IV. Decomposition and regeneration of Buddhist Art and its revival throughout the 19 thth century 4.1 The survival of Buddhist Art during the Russian Protectorate V. The Great Revival - the reaffirmation of Buddhist aesthetics in Buryatia 19th to 20 thth century VI. Afterword and acknowledgements 6.1 Tibetan-styled thangkas,, tsakli, illuminations and dedications from the Matvei Nikolaevich Khangalov History Museum of Buryatia List of Figures ii The Tree of Diagnosisis, Atlas of Tibetatan Medicicine, Histotory Museum of Buryatia iiii Kalalakuta or Halalahaha, poisison inincarnrnatate, AtAtlas of TiTibetatan Medicinine,e, History Museum of Buryatia iiiiii The Palace of the Healing Buddha, detail, Museum of Buryatia. iviv The TrTree of DiDiagnosisis, detatailil, AtAtlalas of TiTibetatan Medidicicine, HiHiststororyy Museum of Buryatia vv Ritual Preparation of Rejuvenation Elixirs, Atlas of Tibetan Medicine,e, of Buryatia vivi A sseet oof ffoouurr tsakli depictiting Garuruda, Gubibilha, Kururukulla andd Vajravarahi, Buryatia, 19thth century viivii Guandi - Geser, Painting on cotton, Buryatia, late 18thth century viii Lhamo - Painting on cotton 18-19thth century ixix Vaishravana also known as ‘Vaishravana and the Eight Horsemen’ - Painting on cotton, Buryatia, 18th century xx Śākyamuni Buddha - Painting on cotton, late 18thth - early 19thth century VII. Bibliography 22 Abstract The influence of Tibetan Buddhist aesthetics upon the Buryat artistry consists of an extraordinary array of remarkable sculptures in ststone, wood and terracotta, castt bronzes with inlaid stones, gilding and pigment and the beautifully detailed religious, ritualistic paintings - maṇḍalas (( Tibetan:: དཀལ་འཁི ོར ར ;; Wylie:: dkyil 'khor )) and images of gods and goddesses, bodhisattvas, spiritual masters, lamas and other prominent spiritual figures, cosmograms along with representations of various eschatological myths. The organization of the aesthetic adventure into the Tibetan artistic influence in Buryatia is envisioned, at the risk of being simplistic, following the exhibition narrative: the material has been divided in two broad historical and cultural zones with emphasis on the distinct aesthetic cohesiveness, whereas Tibetan influence should be of particular interest. Our knowledge of historicity of Buryat Buddhism is primarily based on very few comprehensive books and articles that provide data for the monastic chronology and for the special artistic motifs which distinguish within the tradition. The growing rerecognititioion of ththe importrtance of TiTibetatan ‘p‘patatroronage’ in Buryryatatia is shown inin Buyandalai Dooramba’s chorography bearing the title Buriyad yajar-un burqan-u sasasin ker delgeregsen kiged sasasin bariyici kedun blam-a-nar-un cadig totobci tetedui ogulegsen selte orosiba,,11 (Lubos Belka, 2008) which is a valuable source of basic knowledge on Buryat Buddhism including detailed explanations on the context Tibetan monastic art has taken shape in Buryatia. Noteworthy is the aspect of tentative ideas dealing with the chorography of the artistic movements, in the lack of any official empirical case studies in situ or veritable inventory of Tibetan Buddhism in Buryatia. 11 Translated as “How the Teaching of Buddha spread in the Buryat land, together with a brief accouount of sosome of ththe lamas who upheld the teaching”; the Romanized text in writtenn Mongolian was published by Professor Rincen in 1959, Origin and Spread of Buddhism in Buryatia - A text of Buyandalai Dooramba, Zsuzsa Majer and Krisztina Teleki, Eotvos Lorand Universirsity, Department of Inner Asian StStudies, PuPubliblishshed in Acta Orientalialia Academiae Scientiarum, Hung. Volume 61 (4), p. 447-497, 2008 33 Since the history of Buryat Buddhism has been given insufficient attention specifically and pararadoxixicalllly equalllly by ththe rereprpresentatatitives of ththe Weststerern and Buryryatat Buddhological schools22, the disparate resources will however attempt an unprejudiced reconstruction of the diachronic evolve of Buddhist art within the Buryat mosaic of cultures. In emphasizing the distinctive features and styles of the works created most likely to fulfil the spiritual requirements of the Buddhist religion with an unerring sense of beauty, there will be presented an assemblage of few emblematic masterpieces, namely from Ukhtomsky’s collection at State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg,g, Zanabazar FiFine ArArts Museum, Choijin Lama Templple Museum, Buryryat Histotoricalal Museum, Bogd Khaan Palace Museum in Ulaanbaatar. The purpose of their visual exploration accompanied by their dedicatory inscriptions is to enhance and bring more insight into the contextual and spiritual significance of Tibetan art within the great monastic establishments of the Buryat culture. While the subject matter of thee Buryat Buddhist artwork is primarily represented by the classical personalities of the Buddhihist pantntheon, ththe essay wiwill addidititionalally prprovidide commentatariries whicichh correspond with the ability of the Buryat artist to manipulate those features that are unique to the nature of the particular Tibetan Buddhist medium and to integrate them in the ethnic-cultural patterns. I.I. InIntrtroduucctition 22 ThThe most significant papapers of ththe Buryat Buddhohological schooool are: K.M. Gerasimova, Lamaism natsional’ no-kolonial’ naia politika tsarizma v Zabaikal’ e v XIX i nachale XX vekov (Ulan-Ude, 1957); idem Obnovlencheskoe dvizhenie buriatskogo lamaistskogo dukhovenstva (1917-1930) (Ulan –Ude, 1964); Lamaizm v Buriatii XVIII- nachala XX vv. Struktura I sotsial’ naia rol’ kul’ tovoi sistemy (Novosibirsk, 1983); L.L. Abaeva, Kul’t gor i buddizm v Buriatii (evoliutsiia verovanii i kul’tov selenginskikh buriat, Moscow, 1992); Buddizm i traditsionnye verovaniia narodov Tsentral’ noi Azii (Novosibirsk, 1981); Buddizm i srednevekovaia kul’ tura narodov Tsentral’ noi Azii (Novosibirsk, 1980), Buddhism I kul’turno-psikhologicheskie traditsii narodov Vostoka (Novosibirsk, 1990); Buddizm i literaturno-khudozhestvennoe tvorchestvovo narorodov TsTsentrtralal’ noi AzAzii (N(Novovososibibirirsksk, 1985), PsPsikikholologigichcheseskikie asaspektkty buddizmaa (Novosibirska, 1991), Filosofskie voprosy buddizma (Novosibirsk, 1984), N.L. Zhukovskaia, The Revival of Buddhism in Buryatia, English translation from the Russian text by M.E. Sharpe, Anthropology and Archaeology of Eurasia, vol. 39, no.4, Spring 2000-01, p. 24 44 Four thousand years ago a remarkable culture, that of the pastoral nomads, emerged in the Eurasian steppes north of the Great Wall of China, in the vast expanse of grasslands that stretches from Siberia into Central Europe. By the first millennium B.B.C.C., mateterial prospereritity among ththe nomads had brbrought about a flowering of creativity and the evolution of a new artistic vocabulary. The pastoral peoples left no written record but the legacy of their art that remained extant provide a key to understanding their culture and beliefs. Beautifully crafted, highly sophisticated and abstract in design, primarily embellished with animal motifs, these