Kham, Tibet, 19th Century
Gilt Copper
Gift of D.A.L. Shelton
(1920)
Practice
and Ritual
Physical Description
Provenance
Biography
of Sakyamuni
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Buddha Sakyamuni
Kham, Tibet, 19th Century Gilt Copper Gift of D.A.L. Shelton (1920) Practice
and Ritual
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The smooth, golden tone and commanding size of the gilt copper Buddha Sakyamuni pulls the observer’s eyes to the top of the Tibetan altar in the Ackland Art Museum where he sits in calm meditation, elevated above the other pieces. In Tibet, a sculpture of the Buddha is typically placed at the top center of an altar, which, if possible, is built on the top floor of a house or monastery (Reynolds, 174). During the consecration ceremony of a Tibetan altar, monks ask the Buddha to inhabit the sculpture. Thereafter, the sculpture no longer symbolically represents the Buddha Sakyamuni, for Tibetan Buddhists believe that he now resides within the piece (Reynolds, 172). Continual offerings, music and prayer preserve the presence of the Buddha in the image.
The Buddha Sakyamuni meditates in the “ground touching” position, revealing
the moment he reached enlightenment. He touches the lotus plant with
his right hand, his eyes closed and a peaceful expression across his face.
The lotus blossoms symbolize purity and life, a tradition rooted in ancient
Indian mythology (Lawry, 15). Typically, lotus stems sprout at the
bottom of a lake or river and grow upward through murky water. The
lotus blooms when the bud reaches the surface of the water, a process that
is often compared to the Buddha’s journey through a world of pain and suffering
toward the attainment of enlightenment.
Specific characteristics of the Buddha sculpture, such as the unique features of his body, his meditative position and the lotus flower, act as meditating symbols for the practitioner. As a sculptor creates the figure under the supervision of Buddhist priests, it is recommended that he visually meditate (sadhana) on the image (Reynolds, 171). Exact measurements and grids have been designed to encourage meditation and prayer. Through vision, the practitioner feels the presence of Buddha within his own body (jnanasattva) so that he is not different or separate from the Buddha. An image of the Buddha is not only a symbolic representation of the Buddha and Buddhist truth, it signifies his physical presence. The process of making the art is a religious experience (samayasattva) within itself that is absorbed by the practitioner.
After the initiation ceremony, only a worshiper’s head or possibly his
or her hands point toward the Buddha when approaching the image.
Worshippers move bent at their waists and hold their palms together at
their chests, for proper respect is essential because the Buddha has entered
and resides in the piece. Physical contact with the sculpture is
limited as well (Reynolds, 173). While students bow before the Buddha,
a lama touches the head of the figure to the head of the student symbolically
linking the student to the practitioner of the piece. This gesture
shows the students' subordination to the Buddha but grants him or her the
right to meditatively assume the Buddha’s form, if only briefly.
To the top
A flame
exaggerates the height of the ushnisha atop the Buddha’s flat head
symbolizing his wisdom. A fitted crown runs across the rim
of his forehead signifying his celestial sovereignty. The crown is
a simple band with five ornaments spaced across its front. Each ornament
has four indentations in its center. The middle ornament has a piece
of turquoise in one indentation indicating that the other holes were once
filled with turquoise or perhaps other precious stones. Half flowers,
also adorned with turquoise, mark the end of the crown at the Buddha’s
elongated lobes. According to Pratapaditya Pal, a scholar of Tibetan
art, Tibetans have a love for gemstone inlay and while turquoise is not
native to Tibet, it is one of the most valued stones in Tibet (Pal 1983,
187).
The features of the Buddha’s face are fine and cleanly distinct against the smooth and round skin of his cheeks and forehead. His eyebrows frame his closed eyes and dip at the center of his forehead where they meet his urna (third eye). The urna is another symbol of his extensive knowledge and insight. His mouth and nose are delicate with little detail.
The skin of the Buddha’s body is also smooth and without detail but
like his facial features, his nipples and naval are distinct. The
thin cloth covering his body flows over his left shoulder and under his
right breast. Another end of the cloth twists around his left arm,
falling just above his wrist. His left hand is bent at the elbow
and held gracefully across his waist, while his bare right arm is slightly
bent at the elbow as his right hand touches the ground. The Buddha
sits with his legs crossed on a bed of lotus petals.
To the top
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This sculpture came to the Ackland Museum on loan from the Newark Museum’s Tibetan collection. Dr. Albert L. Shelton, a medical missionary, was responsible for the Newark’s original collection of Tibetan Art (Reynolds 11). Shelton moved to China in 1903 and worked with Tibetans for nearly twenty years. Although he began his practice within the Chinese border, he worked primarily with people of Tibetan ethnicity and culture. During his sabbatical in 1910, Shelton met Edward Crane, a founding trustee of the Newark Museum, on a boat back to the United States. During their boat ride, Shelton agreed to loan 150 Tibetan objects to the museum for a temporary show. The success of the exhibit lead to the purchase and permanent exhibition of the art. When Sheldon returned to Tibet in 1913, he was commissioned by the museum to accumulate Tibetan artifacts to add to the established collection (Reynolds 13). This particular Buddha Sakyamuni, created and used for ritualistic purposes, was probably excavated by Shelton during the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet during the Sino-Tibetan border war of 1905-1918 and was given to the museum in 1920. |
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| No single authoritative biography
of Buddha Sakyamuni’s (Siddhartha Gautama) life exists. Instead,
stories of his birth, childhood and the moment he attained enlightenment
have been passed down throughout numerous centuries within various cultures.
Through multiple writings, art pieces and oral history, we gain a basic
understanding of Siddhartha's life.
In roughly 563 B.C., Siddhartha was born in the county of the Shakyas, at the foothills of present-day southern Nepal (Kohn, 3). His father, Shuddhodana, was the king of the Shakyas. According to Buddhist literature, the miraculous conception and birth of Siddhartha foreshadowed the events of his great life. One night his mother, Madamaya, dreamt that her body extended into the sky and an elephant with six tusks entered her womb. She awoke the next morning knowing she was pregnant. After ten months, Siddhartha emerged from her right hip during a painful labor. At birth, Siddhartha said, “I am the leader of the world, the guide of the world. This is my final birth,” and took seven steps (Kohn, 5). Thereafter, two streams flowed freely from the heavens, one warm and one cold, cleansing the mother and child. After examining the young Siddhartha, a royal guru predicted that one day he would either become a great leader of the world or an enlightened buddha who would renounce all that is worldly. Within a week of his birth, Siddhartha’s mother died of joy. Shuddhodana, both delighted and fearful of the predictions of the guru, wanted his son to grow up and assume his rule over the Shakyas. To ensure this possibility, Shuddhodana sheltered Siddhartha from poverty and suffering, and instead surrounded him with wealth and happiness. |
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Sakyamuni Buddha with Scenes of His Former Lives. Owned by the Newark Museum (Reynolds 181)
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| After his marriage and the birth
of his first child, Siddhartha had many new experiences that influenced
his later decisions. For the first time he witnessed old age, sickness
and death. Lastly, he saw a homeless holy man, devoted to a life
of spiritual pursuits, to whom these physical troubles meant nothing.
While meditating on the images under a jambu (rose apple tree),
Siddhartha fell into a trance (Pal 1984, 41). During his meditation,
the shadows of the trees nearby followed their natural progression over
the earth’s surface. The
jambu’s shadow, however, did not
move while Siddhartha meditated beneath it. Many people saw the phenomenon
and were amazed. To the dismay of his father, Siddhartha decided
to give up his life in the palace. At the age of 29, he left his
home to become a buddha.
Siddhartha tried many methods to reach enlightenment. After fasting
and mortification failed, he returned to simple meditations. While
in a meditative state, Mara, an Indian god of lust, tempted Siddhartha
with physical pleasure and threatened him with physical harm. First,
Mara offered Siddhartha his seductive daughters. When he refused
them, Mara threatened to release his violent demons on Siddhartha.
Siddhartha resisted Mara again and he finally gave up. Alone, Siddhartha
celebrated his victory over Mara by simply reaching down and touching the
earth. At this moment he achieved enlightenment.
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Bibliography
Lowry, John. 1976. Tibetan Art. Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London.
Kohn, Sherab. 2000. The Awakened One: a life of the Buddha. Shambhala
Publishing, Boston.
Pal, Pratapaditya. 1983. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, Los Angeles.
Pal, Pratapaditya. 1984. “A Brief Account of the Buddha’s Life,” in
Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian Art. Los
Angeles.
Reynolds, Valrae. 1999. Treasures of Tibetan Art. Prestel Verlag,
New York City.
Elizabeth Farrell Lott