South, East, and Southeast Asia

Hinduism

• where: founded in India

• what: the belief that the soul goes through reincarnation in an endless cycle; rebirth is affected by karma in the present life

• diety: Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva

Buddhism

• where: founded in India

• what: the belief that the cause of suffering in human life is greed, the only way to become free from suffering is to let go of materialistic possessions and reach nirvana

• diety: the Buddha

Daoism

• where: founded in China

• what: the belief that you should have no resistance to fate and to align yourself with the Dao (the indefinable flow of the universe)

Confucianism

• where: founded in China

• what: the affirmation of accepted values and norms of behavior in primary social institutions and basic human relationships

Jainism

• where: founded in India

• what: belief in divine consciousness through self-help and self-reformation by using wisdom, self-control and pacifism

• diety: none

Sikhism

• where: founded in India

• what: the belief that people of all faiths worship one Divine Being

• diety: only one creator- ”ik onkor”

Shintoism

• where: founded in Japan

• what: the belief that every living thing in nature contains kami/gods

• diety: Kami

circumambulation

(in Buddhist worship) walking around stupa clockwise, a process intended to bring the worshiper into harmony with the cosmos

• seen in Great Stupa at Sanchi

bi

(in ancient China) jade disks carved as ritual objects for burial with the dead; often decorated w/ piercings that extended entirely through the object w/ surface carving

Buddha

(in Buddhism) an awakened one or enlightened one; the one who has become awakened to the ultimate truth of all phenomena

Bodhisattva

(in Buddhism) an enlightened being who delays personal nirvana in order to compassionately help others reach Buddhahood

iconoclasm

the destruction of religious or sacred images

mandorla

(in Buddhist Japan) a lotus-petal-shaped nimbus surrounding the entire figure of a holy person

mudra

(in Buddhist and Hindu iconography) a stylized and symbolic hand gesture

nirvana

(in Buddhism and Hinduism) a blissful state brought about by absorption of the individual soul or consciousness into the supreme spirit (Maksha)

Sakyamuni

(in Buddhism) the Buddha

Shiva

(in Buddhism) a powerful diety who serves as a protector of Buddhist teachings

stupa

(in Buddhism) a large, mound-shaped Buddhist temple

torana

gateway in the stone fence around a stupa, located at cardinal points of a compass

urna

a whorl of hair represented as a dot between the brows; one of the lakshanas of the Buddha

ushinisha

a knot of hair on the top of the head; one of the lakshanas of the Buddha

Vairocana

(in Buddhism) a celestial Buddha regarded as the supreme “Primordial Buddha” or the embodiment of emptiness, light, and universal truth

Vishnu

(in Hinduism) a principal diety in Hinduism, revered as the preserver and protector of the universe

wat

(in Buddhism) a Buddhist monastery in Cambodia

yakshi

ancient nature spirits, often portrayed as female dieties

Great Stupa at Sanchi

• 300 BCE-100 CE, Buddhist

• Madhya Pradesh, India

• stone masonry

Great Stupa at Sanchi

stupa

• reliquary monuments to house ashes of Buddha, important teachers, or other relics

• seen in Great Stupa at Sanchi

axis mundi

a central, sacred pillar or bridge connecting heaven, earth, and the underworld

4 gates to stupa

• birth

• enlightenment

• first sermon

• death

• seen in Great Stupa at Sanchi

Terracotta Warriors

• 220 BCE, Qin Dynasty

• Shaanxi, China

• painted terracotta

Funeral Banner of Lady Dai

• 180 BCE, Han Dynasty

• China

• paint on silk

order of depictions in Funeral Banner of Lady Dai

(top to bottom)

• heavenly realm

• Lady Dai + her attendants

• body of Lady Dai w/ mourners

• underworld

Longmen Caves

• 500 CE-1130 CE, Tang Dynasty

• Luoyang, China

• limestone

anatomy of Buddha

• eyes: nearly closed to show meditation + inward looking

• ears: elongated to show listening and empathy OR point to Buddha’s wealthy early life where jewelry would have been worn, shows Buddha’s choice to forsake that privilege

• arms: long to show generosity

• round heels: show an even temperament

• full lips: symbolize eloquence

Gold and Jade Crown

• 5th-6th CE, Silla Kingdom

• Silla Kingdom, Korea

• metalwork

Travelers Among Streams and Mountains

• 1000 CE, Song Dynasty

• China

• ink on silk hanging scroll

• Fan Kuan

The David Vases

• 1350 CE, Yuan Dynasty

• China

• white porcelain w/ cobalt-blue underglaze

Todai-Ji

• 740 CE (original) + 1700 CE (rebuilt), Buddhist

• Nara, Japan

• cedar/wood, copper/bronze (Buddha)

Inside

• Great Buddha (17th century)

• Nio Guardian Statues (1200 CE)

Great Buddha

• 12th century (original) 17th century (rebuilt), Buddhist

• Todai-Ji, Nara, Japan

• copper (original) + bronze (rebuilt)

Nio Guardian Statues

• 1200 CE, Buddhist/Kei

• Todai-Ji, Nara, Japan

• wood

• Unkei

characteristcis of Keischool style

• ~1200 CE

• muscularity

• dynamism

• movement

• seen in Todai-Ji

Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace

• 1250-1300 CE, Kamakura Period

• Japan

• ink and color on paper

Ryoan-Ji Temple

• 1480 CE + 1700 CE (rock garden), Zen Buddhism

• Kyoto, Japan

• rock garden/dry garden

Ryoan-ji Temple

White and Red Plum Blossoms

• 1710 CE

• Japan

• ink and watercolor gold leaf on paper

• Ogata Korin