BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Arthur M. Sackler Gallery -- Exhibit: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia

DC -- Arthur M. Sackler Gallery -- Exhibit: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia:

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Description of Pictures: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia
October 14, 2017 – November 29, 2020
Visitors can step into a Tibetan Buddhist shrine, linger at a Sri Lankan stupa, travel with an eighth-century Korean monk and discover remarkable objects in Encountering the Buddha. The exhibition draws upon the museums’ collections of Buddhist art from Afghanistan, India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan. By exploring new narratives and technologies, Encountering the Buddha invites visitors to reconsider Buddhist practices and concepts of beauty.
The Freer|Sackler gratefully acknowledges the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation as the exhibition’s lead sponsor. The exhibition features the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room from the Alice S. Kandell Collection.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ENCOUN_171011_10.JPG: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia
2. ENCOUN_171011_20.JPG: Building a Buddha Tibetan Buddhists use specialized meditation techniques to visualize themselves as peaceful or wrathful buddhas. Practitioners learn these techniques through initiations, which may involve cards painted with images of body parts, ornaments, and offerings. Raising up the cards one by one, a teacher reads aloud the instructions or blessings written on the back (see below) as the initiate beholds the image on the front. By viewing the cards, practitioners sharpen their abilities to hold a buddha's image in their minds, building it limb by limb, ornament by ornament. These fifteenth-century cards are primarily related to Heruka, a wrathful buddha. Meditating on Heruka's image enables practitioners to destroy all mental obstacles to enlightenmen
3. ENCOUN_171011_23.JPG: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room from the Alice S. Kandell Collection Whether small domestic altars or grand temple halls, the sacred spaces of Tibetan Buddhism are filled with images of enlightened beings and powerful deities. Sites of ritual performance and worship, such spaces present a spiritual hierarchy, from buddhas at the top to butter lamps below. Sonorous chants, flickering lamplight, and incense smoke stimulate the senses and inspire Buddhist practice. Inside this shrine room, you will encounter Tibetan Buddhist art in a manner that evokes the sacred precincts of the Himalayas. More than two hundred objects, assembled by the New York collector Alice S. Kandell over many years, reflect Tibetan Buddhist concepts and customs rather than museum conventions. Objects are placed on painted furniture, arranged among paintings and textiles, and presented without labels. This dynamic, densely layered display restores the relationships between Buddhist figures and viewers that are typically dissolved within museums.
4. ENCOUN_171011_51.JPG: The Texture of Practice: Sri Lanka's Great Stupa Stupas, hemispherical mounds that house sacred relics, are major sites of pilgrimage across the Buddhist world. Buddhists have visited the Ruwanwelisaya (pronounced Ru-on-way-li-saya) Stupa in Sri Lanka for more than two thousand years. Inspired by needs both spiritual and personal, believers come to receive blessings from the Historical Buddha's bodily relics that the stupa enshrines. Made of fired bricks, the stupa rises 338 feet from its foundation to its pinnacle -- 50 feet higher than the US Capitol. Ruwanwelisaya often is called the Great Stupa for both its size and the potency of its relics. Recorded in December 2016, this film captures one day -- from dawn to moonrise -- of worship during Ruwanwelisaya's monthly full-moon festival. It reveals the texture and emotional power of a site that is at once broadly representative of Buddhist practice and distinctively local.
5. ENCOUN_171011_55.JPG: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia Buddhism -- and the art it inspired -- helped shape the cultures of Asia. Today, its extraordinary art is a source of beauty and contemplation for audiences across the world. Encountering the Buddha brings together more than two hundred artworks, spanning two millennia, to explore Asia's rich Buddhist heritage. Although all Buddhist traditions seek to overcome suffering and the cycle of rebirth, different schools based on the Buddha's teachings developed over time. The artworks displayed here reflect this diversity. Many visitors have already heard of Buddhist meditation and seen images of the Buddha. This exhibition also introduces other practices and objects that, while perhaps less familiar, are central to Buddhism. Encountering the Buddha reveals how Buddhist artworks are endowed with sacred power and ritual use. We ask, why were they created? How did Buddhists engage with them? And how do Buddhist understandings of objects differ from those of art museums? While pursuing answers, we highlight different contexts: grand shrines, intimate altars, royal palaces, artists' workshops, and treacherous pilgrimage routes. All are sites for encountering the Buddha. -- Curators Debra Diamond, Robert DeCaroli, and Rebecca Bloom, and the Encountering the Buddha team
6. ENCOUN_171011_62.JPG: The Awakened One The Buddha was born a prince in a kingdom on the border of Nepal and India in the fifth century BCE. Troubled by the inevitability of disease, aging, and death, he abandoned royal life to become a holy man. Six years of extreme self-discipline did not reveal a way to end the pain of existence. Finally, he sat under a tree, determined to acquire insight. His meditation led to the profound realization that attachments to impermanent things cause suffering. Through this enlightenment, he earned the designation Buddha, or "Awakened One." The Buddha then taught others the path to overcome sorrow. In the centuries following his death, the Buddha's teachings, or dharma, spread across Asia and became the foundation of Buddhism in all its forms. His life and image became central to Buddhist practice throughout the world.
7. ENCOUN_171011_65.JPG: Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future A buddha realizes the true cause of suffering and teaches the world how to overcome it. According to most Buddhist traditions, the Historical Buddha attained enlightenment through a process that had occurred countless times in the past. In every age, a remarkable individual rediscovers timeless truths and attains buddhahood. The buddha of the future awaits the chance to repeat the process. Some traditions state that only one buddha may exist in an era. Others allow for many buddhas to be active in the world simultaneously. In the latter traditions, buddhahood is the goal for all humans, who seek assistance from the buddhas they worship. As the number of buddhas grew, new forms of practice developed around specific buddhas. Because of their shared accomplishments, though, all buddhas are represented with the same physical characteristics
8. ENCOUN_171030_004.JPG: Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia Buddhism -- and the art it inspired -- helped shape the cultures of Asia. Today, its extraordinary art is a source of beauty and contemplation for audiences across the world. Encountering the Buddha brings together more than two hundred artworks, spanning two millennia, to explore Asia's rich Buddhist heritage. Although all Buddhist traditions seek to overcome suffering and the cycle of rebirth, different schools based on the Buddha's teachings developed over time. The artworks displayed here reflect this diversity. Many visitors have already heard of Buddhist meditation and seen images of the Buddha. This exhibition also introduces other practices and objects that, while perhaps less familiar, are central to Buddhism. Encountering the Buddha reveals how Buddhist artworks are endowed with sacred power and ritual use. We ask, why were they created? How did Buddhists engage with them? And how do Buddhist understandings of objects differ from those of art museums? While pursuing answers, we highlight different contexts: grand shrines, intimate altars, royal palaces, artists' workshops, and treacherous pilgrimage routes. All are sites for encountering the Buddha. -- Curators Debra Diamond, Robert DeCaroli, and Rebecca Bloom, and the Encountering the Buddha team
9. ENCOUN_171030_009.JPG: Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future A buddha realizes the true cause of suffering and teaches the world how to overcome it. According to most Buddhist traditions, the Historical Buddha attained enlightenment through a process that had occurred countless times in the past. In every age, a remarkable individual rediscovers timeless truths and attains buddhahood. The buddha of the future awaits the chance to repeat the process. Some traditions state that only one buddha may exist in an era. Others allow for many buddhas to be active in the world simultaneously. In the latter traditions, buddhahood is the goal for all humans, who seek assistance from the buddhas they worship. As the number of buddhas grew, new forms of practice developed around specific buddhas. Because of their shared accomplishments, though, all buddhas are represented with the same physical characteristics
10. ENCOUN_171030_019.JPG: Beyond Death and Desire Artists across Asia often depict the Historical Buddha with his left hand resting in meditation and his right hand lowered to touch the earth. The gestures signal his victory over death and desire -- the impediments to profound spiritual knowledge. In recognition of his special status, Buddha images are consecrated through rituals that imbue sculptures and paintings with a sacred power. Consecration is not permanent, however. When displayed in a museum, objects are typically appreciated for their aesthetic or historical importance rather than their sacred presence.
11. ENCOUN_171030_035.JPG: Outward Signs, Inner Perfection No matter when or where an image of the Buddha was made, notable markers of his identity remain the same. These characteristics, which include the cranial bump or hair bun (ushnisha) and the dot between his eyes (urna), are outward signs of his inner perfection. His long earlobes, stretched by the heavy earrings he wore as a prince, remind us that he renounced all worldly attachments. Carved over fifteen hundred years in four different countries, these sculptures cover a wide chronological and geographical span. Yet each is identifiable as the Buddha
12. ENCOUN_171030_059.JPG: The Awakened One The Buddha was born a prince in a kingdom on the border of Nepal and India in the fifth century BCE. Troubled by the inevitability of disease, aging, and death, he abandoned royal life to become a holy man. Six years of extreme self-discipline did not reveal a way to end the pain of existence. Finally, he sat under a tree, determined to acquire insight. His meditation led to the profound realization that attachments to impermanent things cause suffering. Through this enlightenment, he earned the designation Buddha, or "Awakened One." The Buddha then taught others the path to overcome sorrow. In the centuries following his death, the Buddha's teachings, or dharma, spread across Asia and became the foundation of Buddhism in all its forms. His life and image became central to Buddhist practice throughout the world.
13. ENCOUN_171030_066.JPG: From Icon to Artwork Broken buddhas like these have no religious use in Buddhist communities. In museums, however, fragments are considered art, appreciated for their beauty and historical importance. How do Buddha images break? Some disintegrate naturally: sculptures of the body are structurally weakest at the wrists and neck. Others are intentionally defaced or damaged. And art thieves sometimes sever the heads for easy transport to distant markets. Frustratingly, there are no chisel marks on these heads that indicate how -- or even when -- they were separated from their bodies.
14. ENCOUN_171030_085.JPG: Express Lane to Paradise Amitabha, the celestial buddha of infinite light, created a perfect world or "pure land" known as the Land of Bliss. His goal was to make buddhahood easily attainable, even for ordinary people. Anyone who spends one lifetime practicing Buddhist teachings in the Land of Bliss automatically becomes a buddha. Buddhists from various traditions pray to be reborn in the Land of Bliss; others enter the pure land by merely reciting Amitabha's name.
15. ENCOUN_171030_099.JPG: A Sacred Shape Stupas, monuments containing Buddhist relics, are among the most important structures in Buddhism. Because stupas are ritually charged with the Buddha's sacred presence, their distinctive shape has special importance. Not all of the ritual objects in this case held relics, but all of them recall the shape of a stupa. They each display a dome - or bell - shaped body capped by a tall spire of umbrellas. Umbrellas are a traditional way of indicating importance, and multiple umbrellas indicate exceptional importance.
16. ENCOUN_171030_117.JPG: League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen From the first century BCE through the present day, women have played important roles as patrons of Buddhist art. Sixteen women, including several members of the Chinese imperial court, sponsored the creation of this buddha attended by two bodhisattvas. The women's names are written on the front of the pedestal, along with the date of their gift in 597. Because the women acted collectively, this altarpiece likely went to a public institution, such as a monastery
17. ENCOUN_171030_130.JPG: A Daughter's Devotion Buddhists often commission images to earn spiritual merit. They then dedicate this good karma to their loved ones, benefiting them in this life and the next. An inscription etched on the base of this sculpture records that it was commissioned in 609 by "the devoted religious daughter Zhang Pengle" for her father and mother. To honor her parents, the donor selected a scene from the Lotus Sutra, a scripture widely known among Chinese Buddhists at the time
18. ENCOUN_171030_147.JPG: Making Buddhism Chinese In China, large stone slabs known as steles were used to commemorate important events and people. Buddhists adopted this practice in the sixth century. A group of Chinese Buddhists pooled their resources to sponsor this stele. Their goals, written in Chinese on the narrow sides of the slab, were to bring success to the emperor and peace to the empire. The stele features the so-called Thousand Buddha motif, which became especially popular in China. On each side, rows of identical buddhas flank images of the Historical Buddha in the lower niches and of the Future Buddha Maitreya in the scenes above. Reflecting Buddhism's local relevance and Indian origins, the Historical Buddha wears Chinese robes with flowing sleeves that look like ribbons. In contrast, the many small, meditating buddhas wear Indian robes that cover one shoulder
19. ENCOUN_171030_154.JPG: Mudras A hand gesture with a consistent meaning, made during Buddhist ritual practice or depicted in Buddhist images, is known as a mudra. Find these examples in works on view. "Approach without fear" and "gift-giving" "Earth-touching" "Threatening" "Meditation" "Gift-giving" Double "approach without fear"
20. ENCOUN_171030_160.JPG: "Approach without fear" and "gift-giving"
21. ENCOUN_171030_164.JPG: "Earth-touching"
22. ENCOUN_171030_166.JPG: "Threatening"
23. ENCOUN_171030_169.JPG: "Meditation"
24. ENCOUN_171030_171.JPG: "Gift-giving"
25. ENCOUN_171030_174.JPG: Double "approach without fear"
26. ENCOUN_171030_204.JPG: The Mother and Father of All Buddhas This sculpture represents Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. At his chest's center is the embodiment of wisdom, the goddess Prajnaparamita. Compassion and wisdom are necessary for buddhahood. The result of their union is represented by the many small buddhas that cover this sculpture. In 1191, King Jayavarman VII of Cambodia distributed this and twenty-three similar images across his kingdom. He used Buddhist imagery to reinforce his political power by associating his father with Avalokiteshvara and his mother with Prajnaparamita, thereby suggesting that he himself was a buddha.
27. ENCOUN_171030_210.JPG: From Male to Female The pale standing figure holding a leaf-shaped tray of fruit most likely represents Guanyin, whose temple this painting once adorned. Guanyin is the East Asian form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. In India, Avalokiteshvara is male. In China, the bodhisattva was frequently depicted in ways that make its gender ambiguous. Over time, Guanyin came to be seen as a female figure who provides protection and children to her devotees
28. ENCOUN_171030_212.JPG: Travelers on the Path The path to becoming a buddha is long and difficult. In most traditions, it takes countless lifetimes of exemplary virtue to achieve this goal. The journey to awakening begins with a sincere vow to become a buddha for the benefit of others. Those determined to follow this path to buddhahood are called bodhisattvas. Motivated by profound compassion, bodhisattvas spend lifetimes perfecting their benevolent qualities, such as patience and wisdom. Because bodhisattvas have attained advanced spiritual states, they are able to assist others in worldly and religious matters. Thus, bodhisattvas are important objects of devotion for many Buddhists. Artists typically depict bodhisattvas as radiant figures, richly adorned with jewelry. Bodhisattvas' pristine beauty is an outward expression of their perfected inner virtues. It reflects the good karma they have garnered through innumerable virtuous deeds over many lifetimes
29. ENCOUN_171030_219.JPG: Comfort in Chaos Lost in thought, resting an ankle on his knee and raising two fingers to his chin, the Future Buddha Maitreya patiently waits in heaven for his final rebirth on earth. This will occur when all Buddhist teachings have been forgotten. Many devotees of Maitreya hope to be reborn in the time of his teaching. The promise of this coming buddha offered comfort to many Buddhists in sixth-century China, a chaotic time of constant warfare and civil disorder.
30. ENCOUN_171030_230.JPG: Mind Palace Mandalas are abstract representations of the places where buddhas dwell. Each comprises a particular arrangement of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other figures within a geometrically ordered palace. Although mandalas are usually meant to be visualized in meditation, they can also be painted and sculpted. This wooden bodhisattva may have been part of a monumental three-dimensional mandala. Located within a temple, the assemblage would have constituted a powerful space for ritual practice. Almost life-size, the sculptures would have aided practitioners in imagining and internalizing the mandala and its deities, ultimately recognizing no distinction between a buddha and themselves.
31. ENCOUN_171030_237.JPG: A Buddha with Jewels Buddhas are usually depicted in simple monk's robes, reflecting the importance of abandoning worldly wealth and attachments in the pursuit of enlightenment. Surprisingly, this buddha wears elaborate jewelry, an ornate belt, and a large crown. These regal accessories may refer to a story of the Buddha's life that was especially popular in the region where this sculpture was made. In that tale, the Buddha adorns himself with splendid regalia to convert an arrogant king.
32. ENCOUN_171030_248.JPG: A Bodhisattva without Jewels Bodhisattvas typically wear lavish clothing and jewelry. This small bronze, however, resembles an ascetic, one who has given up worldly riches to attain spiritual insight. He has the matted hair (tied in a conical topknot) of an Indian holy man, and he wears only a simple loincloth -- no crown, no bracelets, no silk sarong. Other images from this region also represent bodhisattvas as renouncers. There may have been a local practice of venerating bodhisattvas for their spiritual accomplishments rather than for their interventions in the world
33. ENCOUN_171030_267.JPG: Ancient Protectors of the Dharma Luohan is the Chinese term for arhat, a disciple of the Buddha who has attained spiritual realization and supernatural powers. Arhats defend the dharma, particularly when no buddha is actively teaching in the world. Due to their exceptionally long lives, they of ten appear aged, as exemplified by the gnarled features and bushy eyebrows of these two sculptures. The images were cast out of iron and coated with plaster and paint, of which few traces remain.
34. ENCOUN_171030_272.JPG: Personal Wealth Management Sometimes associated with the Hindu god Kubera, Jambhala is a god of wealth who protects and provides for the Buddhist community. Some Tibetan Buddhist traditions accept the existence of five separate Jambhalas. This image depicts the very popular Yellow Jambhala, who grants wisdom and riches. Finely adorned, he sits in a regal posture, with one leg hanging down from his throne. His left hand grasps a mongoose with gems streaming from its mouth; his right hand holds a fruit with healing properties
35. ENCOUN_171030_277.JPG: Giver of Gifts Vasudhara is a goddess of abundance in many parts of the Buddhist world. Her multiple arms are a visual representation of her generosity. Here, her bottom right hand makes the "gift-giving" gesture while other hands hold symbols of abundance, such as a full jar and sheaves of grain. A husband and wife donated this gently smiling image of Vasudhara in the winter of 1082. They likely were expressing a wish for children or gratitude for their wealth
36. ENCOUN_171030_287.JPG: On the Road In East Asia, famous monks were frequently honored; images of them were even worshiped on altars. Among the most well-known monks were those who made a pilgrimage to the holy land of India. Over many centuries, hundreds of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean pilgrims braved countless dangers to visit places where the Historical Buddha had lived and taught. A young Korean monk named Hyecho traveled farthest. His journal and poems, which are explored in the tablets to your right, offer an intimate account of pilgrimage and a compelling view into Buddhist history.
37. ENCOUN_171030_296.JPG: The Bearers of Tradition Countless masters have preserved the Historical Buddha's teachings (dharma) by instructing pupils on Buddhist doctrines and practices. Teachers therefore are central to all Buddhist traditions. Using ritual objects that reinforce the dharma, teachers not only explain Buddhist concepts to students, but they also link modern devotees with all who have practiced the dharma over the centuries. Buddhist schools honor different teachers and founders, although some are revered in multiple traditions. Alongside human teachers are a host of divine and enlightened beings who preserve and defend the dharma. Their images often appear outside Buddhist sites. Buddhists relate to these beings as fellow devotees and worship them for worldly benefits, such as health and wealth.
38. ENCOUN_171030_306.JPG: Rising to the Occasion In the coming age, Maitreya will become a buddha and spread the Buddhist teachings. Until then, he is a bodhisattva awaiting his birth in the human realm. Here, his readiness is apparent in his posture: feet on the ground, ready to rise to the occasion. Buddhists worship Maitreya in hope of being reborn in his proximity when he becomes the next buddha. They sometimes expressed their faith in Maitreya on a large scale. This preparatory drawing for a massive copper sculpture conveys the monumental size of such images, which populated monasteries and mountainsides from Afghanistan to China
39. ENCOUN_171030_324.JPG: Demon-Taming Teacher Padmasambhava, a legendary master of Tibetan Buddhism, possessed remarkable spiritual attainments and magical powers. He used these potent skills to subdue demons across Tibet and the Himalayas, converting them from enemies to protectors of Buddhism. These sites of subjugation became important places of pilgrimage. Along with clearing obstacles to the spread of Buddhism, Padmasambhava is venerated for transmitting to Tibetan disciples new teachings and practices from India. He is therefore known as Guru Rinpoche, or "Precious Teacher.
40. ENCOUN_171030_336.JPG: Buddhist Ideas and Greek Style Its body now lost, this monumental head of a bodhisattva once graced a Buddhist temple or monastery in ancient Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). Gandhara was located at the eastern edge of the empire of Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE), and the region remained a conduit between East and West for centuries. Local artists drew upon the area's Greek legacy to create Buddhist images. This bodhisattva's wavy hair, bridgeless nose, and naturalistic lips resemble those of a sculpted Apollo.
41. ENCOUN_171030_338.JPG: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
42. ENCOUN_171030_360.JPG: Tibetan Buddist Shrine Room from the ALice S. Kandell Collection Whether small domestic altars or grand temple halls, the sacred spaces of Tibetan Buddhism are filled with images of enlightened beings and powerful deities. Sites of ritual performance and worship, such spaces present a spiritual hierarchy, from buddhas at the top to butter lamps below. Sonorous chants, flickering lamplight, and incense smoke stimulate the senses and inspire Buddhist practice. Inside this shrine room, you will encounter Tibetan Buddhist art in a manner that evokes the sacred precincts of the Himalayas. More than two hundred objects, assembled by the New York collector Alice S. Kandell over many years, reflect Tibetan Buddhist concepts and customs rather than museum conventions. Objects are placed on painted furniture, arranged among paintings and textiles, and presented without labels. This dynamic, densely layered display restores the relationships between Buddhist figures and viewers that are typically dissolved within museums
43. ENCOUN_171030_368.JPG: The Art of Healing The ultimate goal of the Buddhist path is to transcend all suffering by attaining an enlightened state beyond life and death. That said, Buddhists worship the medicine buddha Bhaishajyaguru to alleviate the more immediate miseries caused by disease, cold, hunger, and even mosquito bites. With his gentle smile, cranial bump, and forehead mark, this bronze figure looks like many other buddhas. The medicinal myrobalan fruit in his right hand, however, identifies him as Bhaishajyaguru.
44. ENCOUN_171030_377.JPG: Wisdom Personified Over time, different Buddhist schools developed different methods for attaining enlightenment. One approach is taught through a collection of texts called Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom). In India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia, these teachings are also personified as a goddess. Prajnaparamita's eleven heads represent her supreme wisdom, and her twenty-two arms indicate her extraordinary power. The crablike appendages that radiate from her upper arms in this sculpture are unusual. They may be the result of artists grappling with the unfamiliar challenge of sculpting many arms.
45. ENCOUN_171030_383.JPG: Knowledge and Power The inscription on the base of this devotional image identifies the figure as Dipa Malla, a fifteenth-century queen of Nepal. She is represented as the Buddhist goddess of perfect wisdom, Prajnaparamita. This sculpture probably served a political function by highlighting the queen's close connection to an important Buddhist goddess. It also reflects the queen's personal devotion to Prajnaparamita
46. ENCOUN_171030_385.JPG: Keep Encountering the Buddha
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