Buddhahood

With Buddhism, going for refuge has been a very significant aspect of their religious practice since the time of the Buddha. Going for refuge marks the point where a person commits themselves to taking the Dhamma. Why is this commitment considered a refuge one might ask? In pre-Buddhist India, going for refuge meant proclaiming one’s allegiance to a powerful person or god in hopes of receiving protection from danger in return. Similar to the Hinduism religion, Buddhism is not a theistic religion. Buddha is not a god. So these people who are taking refuge are not asking for the Buddha personally to provide protection. The three refuges in Buddhism are the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, together they are also known as the Triple Gem. The significance of the word “gem” comes from the origin of the word in that gems are valuable and because gems were once believed to have protective powers. Buddha, refers to Siddhattha Gotama, the Indian prince who renounced his royal titles and went into the forest, meditating until he gained Awakening. Dhamma refers to the path of practice the Buddha taught to his followers. Sangha has two senses, conventional and ideal. In its ideal sense, Sangha consists of all people, lay or ordained, who have practiced the Dhamma to the point of gaining at least a glimpse of the Deathless. In the conventional sense, Sangha denotes the communities of ordained monks and nuns. The Buddha’s teachings focus on the fact that human life is filled with many types of…

On the end of “the way to Buddhahood” is the main building of this temple. The main building looks very close to the Bodhisattva Hall, but it has a drum on its left side and a bell on its right side. On the two side of “the way to Bodhisattva”, there are some animals’ statuses on the grass and ground. Even there are many people on this open ground, but it was really quit and peaceful here. From Buddhists here and many other visitors, I believe that Buddhism is a peaceful religion, because no one…

The ivory Guanyin looks like a female but is not a completely female. The iconography has long dress, smooth skin and delightful jewerys. It also has a silk belt floating in the air. With all of that clothing and jewerys, it looks like a woman. However, combined with the exquiste and complex details, it has an exposed chest with no breast, which conveys that Guanyin is not yet a completely female. As the matter of fact, Guanyin is neither woman nor man, because Guanyin has the power to transform…

When moving further into an analysis of how Siddhartha mirrors the teachings of Buddha in his own life, it is important to note the ways that he does follow the rules of Buddhism as well as goes against them. In addition to the idea of following his own path, Siddhartha also follows these teachings in the fact that he does not mean to cause pain to anyone and only wanted to live his life in a way that would please him. At first, he does this by living in a kind of gluttony. He does not want for…

The Standing Buddha of Thailand was made during the Ayutthaya Period, 15th-16th century, and stands at 57 and ½ inches. This bronze statue demonstrates numerous qualities of a Buddha, a fully-enlightened being who has achieved nirvana and is completely free of transmigration. Comparatively, another bronze statue known as the Standing Figure of a Youth is a Greek sculpture made c. 470 BCE, and is about nine inches tall. The statuette’s observers believe that this piece of art exemplifies the…

Formal Analysis: Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) is an Asuka period sculpture depicting the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara is an enlightened being that aids others in their path to enlightenment through Buddhism. He is said to be the embodiment of compassion and the attendant bodhisattva to Amitabha, Buddha of the West. Kannon is an important figure in Japanese art. The stylistic aspects of this sculpture seem to be borrowed from earlier Chinese styles and…

Museum Fieldwork Paper The Guimet Museum is a museum of Asian art located in Paris, France, it has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia. This paper will talk about the difference and similarities between two Buddhist art pieces, “Standing Buddha” and “Standing Bodhisattva”. “Standing Bodhisattva” (AO 29007) is a sculpture from Pakistan, Kushan period (1st-3rd century). It is one of the Gandhara Buddhist art. Gandhara style Buddhist art was influenced by Greek style to a…

they can become a Zen master reach satori, a permanent state of enlightenment. The Rinzai house of Chan Buddhism focuses on the attainment of enlightenment through continuous study of Koans. Around a similar time, another form of Buddhism developed that was based in the belief of sudden enlightenment; Vajrayana Buddhism believes in reaching Buddhahood, as opposed to Hinayan which was arhat-centric. This type of Buddhism is based on religious texts called Tantras, which describe supernatural…

Bodhisattva means a person who is on the path of enlightenment. The most important virtue that a Bodhisattva should have is compassion. Further, according to Mahayana Buddhism, compassion is considered to be the central virtue that the Bohisattvas should have. For them the supreme virtue that Bodhisattava should have is not Arahatta (personal fulfillment in enlightenment) but Buddhahood characterized by compassion or Karuna (Klostermaier, 1999). In their concept Bodhisattava in not a special…

Buddhism focuses on the doctrine of the Bodhisattva. The term Bodhisattva can also be named as Buddhahood, which means desire for complete enlightenment, has been aroused. Mahayana Buddhism shapes on those beliefs in order to build a distinctive opinion. It is therefore believed by the Mahayana that there vehicle is better than others since its more complete and also allows more and more people to benefit from them. The difference between…