34 research outputs found
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 Buddhaâthe 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 MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin-vinaya; KathÄvatthuâŠ) it appears that the odours emanating from the Buddha are fundamentally different from that of a human â 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 Gandhakuáči, âChamber of smellsâ, is an essential part of the monastic complexes of the MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin, at the centre of which it is placed, and it is a constituent of the monastery which appears in many inscriptions. In the the MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin-vinaya, together with the stĆ«pa, 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 â a divine smell that marks the presence of the Buddha wherever it is exhaled.Cet article propose une premiĂšre Ă©valuation dâun sujet fort nĂ©gligĂ© des Ă©tudes bouddhiques, lâodeur et le parfum. Dans plusieurs textes (Lalitavistara ; le corpus des vinaya des MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin ; KathÄvatthu par exemple) il apparaĂźt que les odeurs Ă©manant du Buddha sont fondamentalement diffĂ©rentes de celle dâun humain â y compris celles de ses excrĂ©ments ou celle quâexhalent ses restes aprĂšs la crĂ©mation. Les donnĂ©es archĂ©ologiques confirment lâimportance du champ olfactif pour les bouddhistes : le gandhakuáči, la « chambre des parfums », constitue une part essentielle des complexes architecturaux monastiques des MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin, au centre desquelles elle se trouve placĂ©e et câest lĂ un constituant du monastĂšre qui apparaĂźt dans de nombreuses inscriptions. Dans le vinaya des MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄdin on observe que tout comme le stĆ«pa cette piĂšce bien particuliĂšre est la propriĂ©tĂ© du Buddha lui-mĂȘme et son importance pour les bouddhistes se marque entre autres par les parfums qui sây attachent. Il sâagit lĂ sans doute de marques de culte, mais certaines donnĂ©es textuelles autorisent Ă©galement Ă considĂ©rer ces fragrances comme signalant une prĂ©sence qui doit par ailleurs demeurer invisible. Les textes nous apprennent aussi que les figures elles-mĂȘmes du Buddha peuvent ĂȘtre imprĂ©gnĂ©es de parfums. Cet ensemble de donnĂ©es, tant textuelles quâarchĂ©ologique fait conclure Ă lâimportance de lâodeur dans le champ bouddhique â une odeur divine qui marque la prĂ©sence du Buddha lĂ oĂč elle sâexhale.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'ExtrĂȘme-Orient. Tome 101, 2015. pp. 11-30