Buddist Painting

Buddhism during the Heian period underwent some dramatic changes. Among these was the introduction of Pure Land Buddhism, a salvation religion based on a bodhisattva (manifestation) of the Buddha called Amitabha or Amida in Japanese.

The late Heian nobility eagerly adopted Pure Land Buddhism, which promised its adherents entrance into a Land of Pure Bliss, or Paradise, on their death if they had faith in Amida. Pure Land Buddhists believed that the death of a believer would be accompanied spiritually by a great celebration, called a raigo , in which the Amida Buddha would come to the newly released spirit with twenty-five Buddhas and thousands of bodhisattvas, all accompanied by a purple cloud, flowers, perfume, and music.

Among the upper classes, raigo paintings and sculpture became very popular, as they depicted the Amida Buddha coming down in celebration in relation to dead relatives or to one's own house. Some of these paintings are clearly yamato-e , or Japanese paintings in that they gave artists a chance to paint Japanese landscapes.

The illustration above is a detail from the most famous of the raigo paintings, that at the Mount Koya temple. The detail itself is only a very small part of the painting, but it is the figure at the very front of Amida's entourage and represents Kannon with a golden pedestal on which to carry of the spirit of the deceased. On the whole painting itself, Amida sits cross-legged in the center while descending on a lavender cloud. Two figures dominate the front of the painting. To the right of Amida is Seishi praying, to the left is Kannon holding the golden pedastel for the spirit of the deceased. Kannon (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit), as the bodhisattva of compassion, is the most important of the bodhisattvas. Originally male, Kannon was eventually transformed into a female figure in Chinese and Japanese art, as here.

And bellow is a Tangka painting. - Tangka, in Tibetan, is the scroll painting of Buddhism, decorated by the colored painting satin. It is the famous kind of religious painting artifact in Tibetan culture.

The contents of TangKa is widely,including the figure of Buddha, the picture of preaching a sermon, the story of the Buddhist scripture and the Buddhists, the history of the society, thecustom , astronomy calendar, Tibetan doctor and medicine and the picture of autopsy. Tangka,in Tibetan, is the scroll painting of Buddhism, decorated by the colored painting satin. It is the famous kind of religious painting artifact in Tibetan culture.

The contents of TangKa is widely,including the figure of Buddha, the picture of preaching a sermon, the story of the Buddhist scripture and the Buddhists, the history of the society, thecustom , astronomy calendar, Tibetan doctor and medicine and the picture of autopsy.

Current Category: Painting Styles >> Eastern Styles >> Buddist Painting Chinese Painting         Buddist Painting         Korean Painting         Japanese Painting       Indian Painting