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Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice

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Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice THE FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB ART CENTER Embodying Compassion 1 Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice Karen Lucic The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center 2 Embodying Compassion Embodying Compassion 3 Lenders and Donors to the Exhibition Contents American Museum of Natural History, New York 6 Acknowledgments Asia Society, New York 7 Note to the Reader Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art 9 Many Faces, Many Names: Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 49 Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: The Newark Museum Catalogue Entries Princeton University Art Museum 49 Image The Rubin Museum of Art, New York 59 Pilgrimage Daniele Selby ’13 65 Practice 73 Glossary 76 Sources Cited 80 Photo Credits Front cover illustration: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (detail), Nepal, The exhibition and publication ofEmbodying Compassion in Transitional period, late 10th–early 11th century; gilt copper alloy with Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice are supported by inlays of semiprecious stones; 26 3/4 x 11 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.; Asia Society, E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; The Henry Luce New York, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.47. Foundation; ASIANetwork Luce Asian Arts Program; John Stuart Gordon ’00; Elizabeth Kay and Raymond Bal; Ann Kinney Back cover illustration: Kannon (Avalokiteshvara), (detail), Japanese, ’53 and Gilbert Kinney. It is organized by The Frances Lehman Edo period (1615–1868); hanging scroll, ink and color on silk; image: Loeb Art Center and on view from April 23 to June 28, 2015. 61 7/8 x 33 in., mount: 87 7/8 x 39 1/2 in.; Gift of Daniele Selby ’13, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, 2014.20.1. © 2015 The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College All rights reserved. Frontispiece: Avalokiteshvara, One of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (detail), Eastern Tibet, 18th century; pigment on cloth with silk No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in mount; 39 3/8 x 20 3/4 x 1/2 in.; The Rubin Museum of Art, New York, any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including C2008.9. photocopying, recording, or any information and retrieval system, without written permission from The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Vassar College 124 Raymond Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12604 Library of Congress Control Number: ISBN: 978-0-9820606-5-0 Editors: Joseph N. Newland and Sheryl Conkelton Design: Vassar College, Publications Office Printer: Brodock Press, Utica, New York 4 Embodying Compassion Embodying Compassion 5 Acknowledgments Note To The Reader I express thanks to all those who have contributed to Embodying Katherine Anne Paul; Adriana Proser; Karen St. Pierre; Joseph In order to make this publication as accessible as possible to all Compassion in Buddhist Art, especially those who have gener- Scheier-Dolberg; Michael Sheehy; Katherine Skaggs; Susan readers, foreign terms are transcribed in the Roman alphabet, ously supported this project at Vassar College. My students and Thompson; Ganden Thurman; Meg Ventrudo; Sinead Vilbar; without diacritical marks or silent letters, with the exception of co-curators in Art 386 provided invaluable assistance: Mengna Chengzhi Wang; Hwai-ling Yeh-Lewis; Chun-fang Yu; Keiichi some transliterations that appear in bibliographic entries and Da ’15; Claire Fey ’16; Emma Jacobs ’15; Lily Kaar ’16; Liqiao Yumen. direct quotations. In those cases, the original author’s usage Li ’16; Benno Orlinsky ’15; Jiajing Sun ’15; and Catherine Zhou Special thanks to those who made extraordinary efforts on has been preserved (with the exception of diacritics below ’15. In addition, I gratefully acknowledge: Nicholas Adams; behalf of this project: Baynard Bailey; Bettina Chew; Bryce the baseline). Similarly, although this catalogue uses Pinyin Liliana Aguis; Janet Allison; Francine Brown; Bruce Bundock; Daniel ’17, Judith Dollenmayer; Sherry Fowler; Gary conventions to render Chinese terms into English, it retains Jon Chenette; Eve D’Ambra; Elizabeth Dunn; Julia Fishman; Hohenberger; Emma Jacobs; Karen Hwang; Amy Laughlin; Wade-Giles transliterations that appear in quotations and names Carolyn Grant Endowment Committee; Thomas Hill; Karen George Laws; Richard Lucic; Clive Mudando; James Mundy; of publications. Japanese words ending in –ji, -in, and –dera Casey Hines; Rick Jarow; Sarah Kozloff; Mary-Kay Lombino; Anthony Olawo; Gary Sheng; Andrew Watsky. indicate names of religious complexes. Foreign terms—glossed members of the Art Department; Grace Mooney ’15; Molly when first used—are italicized for common nouns and titles of Nesbit; Katherine Neville ’14; Elizabeth Nogrady ’99; Kristine Generous support for Embodying Compassion in Buddhist scriptures, except in the case of words that have entered regular Olson ’11; Justin Patch; H. Daniel Peck; Patricia Phagan; Chip Art and its digital components is provided by: E. Rhodes & usage in English, such as bodhisattva, mantra, mandala, yoga, Porter; Joann Potter; Research Committee; Daniele Selby ’13; Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; The Henry Luce Foundation; etc. The following abbreviations are used to gloss foreign terms: Anne Silk ’12; Samuel Speers; Tamar M. Thibodeau; Margaret ASIANetwork Luce Asian Arts Program; John Stuart C=Chinese; J=Japanese; S=Sanskrit; T=Tibetan. The reader Vetare; Michael Walsh. Gordon ’00; Elizabeth Kay and Raymond Bal; Ann Kinney may refer to the glossary at the back of this publication for a ’53 and Gilbert Kinney. Institutional support from Vassar comprehensive list of foreign terms and concepts used in this Thanks also to these individuals: Helen Abbott; Alison College includes: Agnes Rindge Claflin Fund; Emily Floyd catalogue. The inside covers display maps and a timeline of Baldassano; Stephanie Barnes; Kurt Behrendt; Michelle Fund Endowment; Ford Scholars Program; Carolyn Grant relevant historical periods and style categories. Bennett; Marcus Bingenheimer; John Carpenter; Qing Chang; Endowment; Office of Religious and Spiritual Life; Salmon Tenzin Chonyi; PC Chun; Sheryl Conkelton: Francesca Fund Endowment. For more information on the objects in this exhibition, plus Consagra; Karl Debreczeny; Lama Karma Drodhul; Lauran many interactive features, visit the Embodying Compassion R. Hartley; Andrea Hagy; Mary Beth Heston; Leise Hook; This exhibition project never would have begun without the in Buddhist Art website at: http://pages.vassar.edu/ Jean-Luc Howell; David Kaczynski; Patricia Karetzky; Laurel inspiration of Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Without the embodyingcompassion/ Kendall; Zoe Kwok; Denise Patry Leidy; Cary Liu; Kristen unfaltering support of my husband, Douglas Winblad, it Mable; Clare McGowan; Joseph N. Newland; Linda Patrik; never would have been completed. Embodying Compassion in There the user can download a free smartphone application Buddhist Art is dedicated to the memory of my beloved brother, for remote use or while visiting the exhibition at The Frances Roger Lucic, and to the happiness of all beings. Lehman Loeb Art Gallery from April 23 to June 28, 2015. 6 Embodying Compassion Embodying Compassion 7 Many Faces, Many Names: Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion Introduction I will describe him in outline for you— Above all other considerations, the exhibition focuses on how Listen to his name, observe his body, Avalokiteshvara’s diverse artistic manifestations exemplify Bear him in mind, not passing the time vainly, limitless compassion. Of course, compassion is a widely shared For he can wipe out the pains of existence. religious and humanist value, expressed in Neo-Confucian Lotus Sutra1 benevolence and Christian brotherly love, in the life work of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa. In the context of The Exhibition Mahayana Buddhism, compassion has a very precise meaning. For two thousand years, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara has Stemming from empathy and an understanding of the universal embodied the quality of compassion in Mahayana Buddhism.2 desire for happiness, compassion is the strong wish that all be- Arising in tandem with Mahayana (Great Vehicle) precepts, bo- ings—without exception—be free from suffering. Furthermore, dhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara are great beings who continually Mahayana Buddhists make a personal commitment to put 8 manifest the aspiration to achieve enlightenment—or complete that wish into action. This essay traces the many ways that liberation from suffering—and constantly endeavor for the sake artists and their patrons have sought to convey this quality in of all. Therefore, he (or for some followers, she) is a supremely Avalokiteshvara’s myriad forms, and how such altruistic ideals important figure in the Buddhist pantheon.3 And yet until now, infuse the veneration and emulation of this bodhisattva. no American museum has staged a transcultural exhibition Despite Avalokiteshvara’s diverse manifestations, the exhibi- solely devoted to Avalokiteshvara.4 Embodying Compassion in tion installation and wall labels weave together a coherent Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice begins to fill this gap narrative about his place in Buddhism throughout Asia. In this by examining his many manifestations across Asia. essay, the discussion proceeds chronologically as it investigates Fundamentally multidisciplinary and informed by both Avalokiteshvara’s development in those Asian countries in- Buddhist studies and art historical methods, this
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