Lecture Overview
Title of Lecture: The Travelling Image: Buddhist Art and Architecture
Course: ARTH 2007: Asian Art
Date: January 29, 2026
Instructor: Victoria Nolte, PhD
Email: victoria.nolte@carleton.ca
Key Works of Art
Shaka Triad
Artist: Attributed to Torii Bushi
Date of Creation: 623 (Asuka period)
Location: Horyu-ji, Nara prefecture, Japan
Medium: Gilt bronze
Dimensions: 116.8 cm
Shiva Figure
Date: 15th century (Tamil Nadu), India
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 68.5 x 39.4 cm
Location: Freer Gallery of Art
Lecture Topics Discussion Focus
Core Themes:
How Buddhist thought and religious practices have influenced the development of iconography across various regions.
Specific Areas of Study:
Origins of Buddhism, its core principles, practices, and beliefs.
Design of Buddhist religious spaces including stupas, cave-temples, and temple-monasteries.
Understanding iconography, focusing on visual representations of key figures in Buddhism.
The devotional functions of Buddhist images and artworks created for religious purposes.
Interaction of Buddhist art and material culture with existing cultural belief systems in East Asia.
The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
Buddha Shakyamuni Preaching his First Sermon
Date: 5th-6th century, Ancient Gandhara region
Medium: Green schist
Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.5 cm
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Four Scenes from the Life of the Buddha:
1. Birth of the Buddha
2. The Enlightenment
3. The First Sermon at Deer Park in Sarnath
4. Parinirvana
Buddha's Core Doctrines
Four Noble Truths:
1. To be is to suffer.
2. The cause of suffering is desire.
3. To eliminate suffering, one must eliminate desire.
4. The path to eliminate desire is through the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path:
1. Right Views
2. Right Inclinations
3. Right Sayings
4. Right Conduct
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Endeavour
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Meditation
Samsara:
Definition: A Sanskrit word meaning “world”; refers to the endless cycle of death and rebirth in Buddhist and Hindu belief systems.
Importance: Buddhism provides methods to overcome the challenges of existence, as evoked by this concept.
Schools of Buddhist Practice
Hinayana Buddhism:
Also known as “the small vehicle”, focuses on personal enlightenment. Individuals must remove themselves from the material world.
Generally exhibits a more monastic practice.
Mahayana Buddhism:
Known as “the great vehicle”, encourages enlightenment not just for oneself but for all beings.
Involves diverse approaches, including meditation, selfless service, and working for the benefit of others.
Theravada Buddhism:
Based on the concept of vibhajjavāda, translating to “teaching of analysis.”
Stresses personal experience, knowledge application, and reasoning.
Closely related to Hinayana and predominant in Southeast Asia.
Proliferation of Buddhism across East and Southeast Asia
Timeline of Expansion:
3rd century BCE: Sri Lanka
1st century CE: China
4th century CE: Korea
6th century CE: Japan
8th century CE: Tibet
Main Branches of Buddhism:
Mahayana
Theravada
Historical Figures
Emperor Ashoka (c. 268-232 BCE):
Notable for his promotion of Buddhism throughout the Maurya Empire.
Great Stupa, Sanchi:
Originally founded in the 3rd century BCE, enlarged circa 150-50 BCE.
Ashoka's Column:
Erected in 246 BCE, made of polished buff sandstone and standing at 30 m in height.
Contains the Lion capital that dates to around 250 BCE.
Architectural Structures
Great Stupa Structure:
Components:
Axis mundi
Dome
Mast
Chattra (umbrellas)
Torana (ornamental gateways)
Balustrades
Torana:
Definition: A free-standing ornamental or arched gateway used for ceremonial purposes.
Iconography in Buddhism
Aniconic Representations:
Non-figurative images alluding to the Buddha, such as the Buddhapada (footprints), Lotus (symbolizing purity), and Dharmachakra (Wheel of Dharma).
Visualizations of the Buddha:
Such images serve to embody the Buddha’s wisdom, provide focal points for devotion, and symbolize the ineffable experience of enlightenment.
Symbolism in Mudras
Definition:
Religious gestures made usually with hands or fingers, important in meditation, iconography, and ritual practice.
Each mudra has symbolic meanings and specific qualities that can affect practitioners.
Key Figures in Buddhist Art
Definitions:
Buddha: “Awakened” or “enlightened being.”
Key Figures:
Shakyamuni: Historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama).
Maitreya: Future Buddha, often depicted as a bodhisattva.
Amitabha/Amida: Buddha of the Western Paradise, significant in Pure Land sects in Japan.
Bodhisattva: A being on the path to enlightenment, who postpones their own liberation to assist others.
Key Bodhisattvas:
Avalokiteshvara: Bodhisattva of compassion, known as Kannon in Japan and Guanyin in China.
Pensive Maitreya: Representing contemplation, often shown as a bodhisattva.
Buddhism in Regional Contexts
China:
Mahayana Buddhism introduced in the 1st century CE through the Silk Road.
Early artworks integrated with local belief systems such as ancestor worship and Daoism.
Japan:
Buddhism introduced in the mid-6th century during Emperor Kimmei's reign.
Pure Land Buddhism, emphasizing Amitabha Buddha, is predominant.
Readings for Next Week
Required Readings:
Hardy, Adam. “Hindu Temples and the Emanating Cosmos.” Religion and the Arts vol. 20 (2016): 112-134.
Khalid, Farisa. “Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja).” Smarthistory, August 9, 2015.
Michell, George. Hindu Art and Architecture, pg. 11-30.
Discussion Topics:
Examination of devotional functions in Hindu art.
Temple design as a representation of movement and emanation.
Lecture Overview
Title of Lecture: The Travelling Image: Buddhist Art and Architecture
Course: ARTH 2007: Asian Art
Date: January 29, 2026
Instructor: Victoria Nolte, PhD
Email: victoria.nolte@carleton.ca
Key Works of Art
Shaka Triad
Artist: Attributed to Torii Busshi (descendant of Chinese/Korean immigrants, influential in the Asuka period style).
Date of Creation: 623 (Asuka period).
Location: Kondo (Main Hall) of Horyu-ji, Nara prefecture, Japan.
Medium: Gilt bronze.
Dimensions: 116.8 cm (central figure).
Stylistic Features: Characterized by the "archaic smile," elongated heads, and heavy, symmetrical drapery that flows over the pedestal, reflecting the Northern Wei style from China.
Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)
Date: 15th century (Tamil Nadu, Chola Dynasty influence), India.
Medium: Bronze (lost-wax casting).
Dimensions: 68.5 \times 39.4 cm.
Location: Freer Gallery of Art.
Symbolism: Shiva is depicted within a flaming cosmic circle (prabhamandala), performing the Tandava, the dance of creation and destruction.
Lecture Topics & Discussion Focus
The Mobility of Images: Analyzing how Buddhist icons migrated along the Silk Road, undergoing stylistic transformations as they encountered different local aesthetic and religious traditions (transcultural exchange).
Iconography and Devotion:
The transition from aniconic (symbolic) to iconic (anthropomorphic) representations.
How visual arts facilitated the spread of complex metaphysical doctrines to a diverse, often illiterate, laity.
The role of Merit (Punya): The belief that commissioning or creating Buddhist art generates spiritual merit for the patron.
The Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Historical Buddha)
Siddhartha Gautama: Born a prince of the Shakya clan; left the palace at 29 to seek an end to suffering; achieved Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at age 35.
The Four Key Life Scenes (Commonly depicted in relief):
Birth (Lumbini): Emerging from Queen Maya's side in a garden.
Enlightenment (Bodh Gaya): Defeating the demon Mara and calling the earth to witness (Bhumisparsha mudra).
First Sermon (Sarnath): Setting the Wheel of Law (Dharma) in motion at the Deer Park.
Parinirvana (Kushinagar): The death of the physical body and final release from the cycle of rebirth.
Buddha's Core Doctrines
Four Noble Truths:
Dukkha: Life is characterized by suffering/impermanence.
Samudaya: Suffering is caused by attachment and desire (Trishna).
Nirodha: Suffering ceases when desire is extinguished.
Magga: The path to cessation is the Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path (Threefold Division):
Wisdom (Prajna): Right View, Right Resolve.
Ethical Conduct (Shila): Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood.
Mental Discipline (Samadhi): Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.
Samsara and Karma: The metaphysical framework involving the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by the moral law of cause and effect (Karma).
Schools of Buddhist Practice
Theravada (The School of the Elders):
Follows the Pali Canon.
Emphasizes the historical Buddha as a human teacher and the ideal of the Arhat (a monk who achieves individual liberation).
Mahayana (The Great Vehicle):
Introduces the Bodhisattva ideal: beings who delay their own Nirvana to save all sentient beings.
Features a pantheon of celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (e.g., Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara).
Vajrayana (The Diamond Vehicle):
Prominent in Tibet; utilizes esoteric rituals, mantras, and mandalas to achieve enlightenment rapidly.
Proliferation across Asia
The Silk Road: The primary conduit for Buddhism's movement from India through Central Asia into China, Korea, and Japan.
Timeline of Adoption:
3rd century BCE: Sri Lanka (via Ashoka's missions).
1st century CE: Han Dynasty China.
4th century CE: Three Kingdoms period in Korea.
6th century CE: Asuka period in Japan.
Historical Figures & Early Architecture
Emperor Ashoka (r. 268-232 BCE):
Transformed from a conqueror to a pacifist Buddhist patron after the Kalinga War.
Edicts of Ashoka: Inscribed on pillars and rocks throughout the Indian subcontinent to promote Dharma.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi:
A reliquary mound containing the remains of the Buddha.
Architectural Symbolism:
Anda (Dome): Represents the dome of heaven or the universe.
Harmika: The square railing atop the dome, representing a sacred space.
Yasti (Mast): The Axis Mundi, connecting the celestial and terrestrial realms.
Chattra: Three umbrellas symbolizing the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha).
Torana: Intricately carved gateways aligned with the cardinal directions, depicting Jataka tales (previous lives of the Buddha).
Iconography and Symbolism
Aniconic Phase: Early Buddhist art avoided depicting the Buddha in human form, using symbols like the Empty Throne, the Wheel (Dharmachakra), or Footprints (Buddhapada) to signify his presence.
Mudras (Sacred Hand Gestures):
Abhaya Mudra: Right hand raised, palm out (Protection/Fearlessness).
Bhumisparsha Mudra: Right hand touching the ground (Calling the Earth to witness).
Dharmachakra Mudra: Both hands at the chest (Turning the Wheel of the Law).
Lakshanas (Distinguishing Marks):
Ushnisha: Cranial bump (symbolizing wisdom).
Urna: Tuft of hair or dot between eyebrows (symbolizing spiritual insight).
Elongated Earlobes: Signifying his former status as a prince who wore heavy jewelry.
Key Figures in Buddhist Art
Amitabha (Amida): The Buddha of Infinite Light; ruler of the Western Pure Land.
Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin/Kannon): The most popular Bodhisattva, embodying compassion. In East Asia, this figure frequently transitioned from male to female iconography.
Maitreya: The Buddha of the Future, currently a Bodhisattva in Tushita Heaven.
Regional Contexts
China:
Evolution of cave-temple complexes (e.g., Yungang and Longmen Grottoes) where colossal Buddha statues were carved directly into cliffsides.
Japan:
The introduction of Buddhism coincided with the rise of the centralized state. Temples like Horyu-ji represent some of the oldest surviving wooden architecture in the world.