Head of Buddha Shakyamuni

The earliest images of Buddha are found in modern-day Pakistan at sites along ancient trade routes. The region once known as Gandhara was familiar to the Greeks as early as the fourth century BCE. Traces of their influence are visible in the classicizing features of this head of Buddha (top), combined with all the traditional attributes of Buddha—the skull protuberance, the spot or tuft of hairs between the eyebrows, and the elongated earlobes of ancient Indian nobility. The simplified and youthful facial features and the coiled knots of hair are typical of Gandharan representations. This head would probably have been sculpted for a full-length, approximately life-size robed statue. There is evidence that the nimbus originally appearing around the head has been removed. 1-200 CEhttps://digitalcommons.risd.edu/risdmuseum_channel/1025/thumbnail.jp

The Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit

This work is made up of three uncqunl parts. The first part contains an edition of the Sanskrit text of what I have called 'Redaction A' of the Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra. This edition is based on a single manuscript found at Gilgit; with variants from four other manuscripts, also found at Gilgit, given in the critical apparatus. Stylistically 'Redaction A' seems to represent an 'unrevised" version of the text, perhaps a first attempt at Gilgit to commit an oral tradition to writing. The second part consists of a critical edition of the Tibetan translation of a Sanskrit text of the Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra. This edition is based on the Derge, Narthan, Peking and Lhasa versions of the 'phags pa bcom ldan 'das sman gyi bla bai uu rya'i 'od kyi snon gyi smon lam gyi khyad par rgyas pa and the 'phags pa de bzin gaega pa bdun gyi snon gyi smon lam gyi khyad par rgyas pa. The Derge versions form the basis of the edition. The first and second parts are preliminary studies to the third and main part, since the whole was not intended as a study of the Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra per se. This third part is devoted to an English translation of the Sanskrit text, with notes; the latter making up the bulk of the work. In these notes I have attempted to show how a literate member of the Gilgit community, assuming he was familiar with the texts known to have been available to him, would have, or could have, understood the Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra, I have also attempted to show what was and what was not unique to Bhaisajyaguru-Sutra vis-a-vis the Gilgit collection as a whole, and to make the first tentative steps towards reconstructing the 'Buddhism' current at Gilgit in the 5th-6th century

The Fragrance of the Buddha, the Scent of Monuments, and the Odor of Images in Early India

This article provides a first assessment of a neglected topic of Buddhist studies, smell and fragrance. In several texts (Lalitavistara; the Mūlasarvāstivādin-vinaya; Kathāvatthu…) it appears that the odours emanating from the Buddha are fundamentally different from that of a human – including those of his excrementa or those exuded from his remains after the cremation. Archaeological data confirm the importance of the olfactory imagination for Buddhists: the Gandhakuṭi, “Chamber of smells”, is an essential part of the monastic complexes of the Mūlasarvāstivādin, at the centre of which it is placed, and it is a constituent of the monastery which appears in many inscriptions. In the the Mūlasarvāstivādin-vinaya, together with the stūpa, this particular room is the property of the Buddha himself and the scents which are attached to it attest of its importance for Buddhists. These are no doubt a mark of worship, but textual data also suggest that these fragrances signal a presence that must otherwise remain invisible. Texts teach us that the figures of the Buddha themselves can be impregnated with perfumes. This set of data, both textual and archaeological, leads us to emphasize the importance of smell in the Buddhist field – a divine smell that marks the presence of the Buddha wherever it is exhaled.Cet article propose une première évaluation d’un sujet fort négligé des études bouddhiques, l’odeur et le parfum. Dans plusieurs textes (Lalitavistara ; le corpus des vinaya des Mūlasarvāstivādin ; Kathāvatthu par exemple) il apparaît que les odeurs émanant du Buddha sont fondamentalement différentes de celle d’un humain – y compris celles de ses excréments ou celle qu’exhalent ses restes après la crémation. Les données archéologiques confirment l’importance du champ olfactif pour les bouddhistes : le gandhakuṭi, la « chambre des parfums », constitue une part essentielle des complexes architecturaux monastiques des Mūlasarvāstivādin, au centre desquelles elle se trouve placée et c’est là un constituant du monastère qui apparaît dans de nombreuses inscriptions. Dans le vinaya des Mūlasarvāstivādin on observe que tout comme le stūpa cette pièce bien particulière est la propriété du Buddha lui-même et son importance pour les bouddhistes se marque entre autres par les parfums qui s’y attachent. Il s’agit là sans doute de marques de culte, mais certaines données textuelles autorisent également à considérer ces fragrances comme signalant une présence qui doit par ailleurs demeurer invisible. Les textes nous apprennent aussi que les figures elles-mêmes du Buddha peuvent être imprégnées de parfums. Cet ensemble de données, tant textuelles qu’archéologique fait conclure à l’importance de l’odeur dans le champ bouddhique – une odeur divine qui marque la présence du Buddha là où elle s’exhale.Schopen Gregory. The Fragrance of the Buddha, the Scent of Monuments, and the Odor of Images in Early India. In: Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient. Tome 101, 2015. pp. 11-30