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Figural Art

The rise of the Mahayana, with its immense pantheon of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, greately expanded the possibilities for Buddhist art. This painting of the bodhisattva Padmapani ("lotus-hand") comes from the Ajanta caves. Also known as Avalokiteshvara ("the one who looks down upon suffering") Padmapani is the bodhisattva of compassion, and this quality can be seen in the figure's gentle demeanor. This image and the image of Vajrapani (below) flank the two sides of the doorway to the central shrine in Cave 1 at Ajanta, and represent the two aspects of a perfect Buddha-infinite Compassion, and absolute transcendent Wisdom. These images are usually dated in the 6th century CE.

This image of the bodhisattva Vajrapani is the companion piece to the image of Padmapani above. Vajrapani ("bearing the thunderbolt") also known as Manjushri, is the bodhisattva who symbolizes perfect wisdom, which allows one to distinguish truth from falsity. He is usually dressed as a prince (hence the crown here) and carries a sword identified with the wisdom that separates truth from falsehood. This wisdom is one of the primary aspects of a perfect Buddha (the other being compassion). These images are usually dated to the 6th century CE, when iconic portrayals of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas had become well established.

Sri Lankan Buddhism has a long association with Sri Lankan kings, who used their power to safeguard (and sometimes purify) the Buddhist Sangha, and used this role to validate their rule. This 12th c. image from Pollonnaruwa in north-central Sri Lanka was cut from a 20 foot tall granite outcrop. Pollonnaruwa was the Sinhalese capital between 781-1290 CE, after the previous capital Anaradhapura had to be abandoned because of continuing raids by South Indian Tamil kings. The statue's presence here not only sends a message about the virtues of Buddhist practice, but reinforces the royal authority by which it was carved.

As Buddhism moved across Asia, Buddha images gradually began to be made in the image of the local people. This Chinese Buddha comes from the Northern Wei Dynasty, which ruled much of northern China during the early centuries CE (the image is dated 2nd-5th c. CE). The Northern Wei dynasty were "barbarian" outsiders who had conquered China; they valued Buddhism not only as a legitimating cultural force to deploy against native Chinese culture, but they favored the sorts of Buddhist adepts that could predict the future and wield other sorts of shamanic powers (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

Japanese Buddhism shows the same artistic progression. This image of Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) was made during the Heian Period (11th. c CE). Even though the dominant religious schools tended to emphasize the powerful celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas (who had never been born on earth), the historical Buddha has always been an object of veneration and a model to emulate. Heian Buddhism was still largely an elite phenomenon confined to the upper classes, and was especially centered in the great monasteries at Mount Hiei and Mount Koya (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

This beautiful image portrays the bodhisattva Maitreya (the Future Buddha, Miroku in Japan). It is made of sculpted wood covered with gold leaf and paint (and a little bit of metal for the object in his hand). One religious attraction of the Maitreya cult was the notion that he was already here on earth among us, performing the meritorious deeds that would lead to his future enlightenment. This image is dated 1189 CE, during the Kamakura period (arguably the most creative and powerful period in Japanese Buddhism, in which several charasmatic teachers transformed Buddhism from an aristocratic elite practice to a mass popular movement (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

This image from 19th century Thailand is made from carved wood covered with gold leaf. Notice the thin body, and delicate, elongated features (particularly the ears). One of the fascinating things is how the portrayal of the Buddha image changes from place to place, and in each place develops into a characteristic style (Art Institute of Chicago).