Buddhism

Published on 19th May, 2023, in The Hindu. The naked philosophers: the reason some Indian ascetics renounced their robes The naked ascetic in India is euphemistically referred to as Digambara or sky-clad. These are men who have rejected the material world totally: not just relationships and property, but also clothes. The earliest images are found in Mathura’s Kankali Tila and are about 2,000 years old. They belong to the Jain faith. The idea of naked ascetics is an old one, familiar to the Buddha who forbade monks from wandering in the nude. So the idea of nude ascetics is at least 2,500 years old, if ..

Published on 26th March, 2023, in Mid-day. It is important to remember that when Buddha established his monastic order the Sangha, he initially hesitated to include women. In traditional monastic orders, it is believed that the female anatomy does not enable women to follow the monastic path and it binds them to worldly passions, such as desire and vanity. However, when the Buddha saw his stepmother, weeping at the death of his father, he realised that suffering in men is no different from suffering of women, biology notwithstanding. Therefore, he created the Buddhist order of nuns. Buddha was always accompanied by two male disciples Sariputta ..

Published on 4th December, 2022, in Mid-day. Indonesia today is a Muslim country except for the island of Bali. However, over 1,000 years ago, the island of Java saw great competition between Tantric Buddhism and Tantric Hinduism. This resulted in the creation of some of the most magnificent structures in the world that even today evoke awe in the beholder. Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands of which 7,000 are inhabited. Java is one of the larger islands with several volcanic peaks. These are considered sacred because the volcanic ash makes the land fertile. The mountains collect river water that irrigate the fields. ..

Published on 4th November, 2022, in The Hindu. All religions insist they respect women. However they all have stories, art and laws that are rather patriarchal, if not outrightly misogynistic. When this is pointed out, believers and followers tend to become defensive and insist this is not the fault of the religion’s original essence, but of later interpreters. Such conversations have long been part of Hindu, Islamic and Christian studies, but only now are emerging in Buddhist study. Buddha’s mother Buddhist imagery appears five centuries after the Buddha’s passing. At first, Buddha was represented symbolically. Then he was given a body. The only woman of ..

Published on 16th September, 2022, in The Hindu. Vedic Rishis are imagined with long hair, tied in a topknot. But Adi Shankara, the Vedanta philosopher, is depicted in popular artworks with a shaved head, covered with a drape. An enquiry into how the Hindu sage and monk treated his hair reveals how it has been used to express materialism and fertility in India since ancient times. The earliest monk to be depicted in artwork was Gautama Buddha. He lived 2,500 years ago but his images appear only 2,000 years ago, under Greek influence, in Gandhara regions of Northwest India. He is shown with curly hair ..

Published on 5th June, 2022, in Mid-day. While some see Mahabharata as history, others see Mahabharata as an epic born of a common pool of folk stories that was shared by Buddhist Jatakas also. Here are four stories that share plots with the Mahabharata as a result. The first is the Vidura Jataka. Here we have the story of a yaksha who wants to capture the king’s minister, Vidura. He is unable to do so because the king has a big army. He then discovers that the king loves to gamble. So, he challenges the king to a gambling match. The king cannot resist, especially ..

Published on 20th November, 2021, in Times of India. Nearly 2,000 years ago, there were Buddhist stupas across India. Nearly 1,500 years ago, there were Buddhist caves in the Deccan. But 1,000 years ago, Buddhist structures were overshadowed by Hindu temples. Jain art, which was as popular as Buddhist art, became a relatively minor force. Today, Jainism still maintains a tenacious hold in mainland India. Buddhism, however, survives only along the rim of India, in the Himalayan regions, and beyond, in East and Southeast Asia. Buddhist revival in India happened only in the mid-20th century as part of the anti-caste movement spearheaded by Babasaheb Ambedkar. ..

Published on 24th October, 2021, in Mid-day. Buddhist art has a history of over 2,000 years. During this time, it goes through many phases, revealing the transformations in Buddhist thought. In the earliest Buddhist art, Buddha is not represented. In fact, his presence is indicated by his absence, using various symbols such as a turban, a tree and his footprints. It was believed, in the early days, a great figure, who has attained nirvana (oblivion), should not be represented in art. After all, he already wiped out his mortal identity by his penance. This thought changes in the second phase of Buddhism. Here, Buddha is ..

Published on 14th August, 2021, in Times of India. Tibetan Buddhism is called Vajrayana Buddhism, which is sometimes also called Tantrik Buddhism. Here, women play an important role, which is why the symbols of Vajrayana Buddhism are a double-sided dagger (vajra) and the bell (ghanta), representing male and female principles, which in turn represent the spiritual and material realm. Another symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism is the use of a skull. Teachers hold skull mounted staff (khatvanga) in their hands. If the presence of female represents sex and life, the presence of skull represents violence and death. If Theravada Buddhism valued the solitary pursuit of meditation ..