Emanated Buddhas in the aureole of Buddhist images from India, Central Asia, and China
By: Tianshu Zhu
Publisher: Cambria Press
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Amherst, New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 494
ISBN-13: 9781604979480
Subjects: Buddhist art; History; Buddhist art and symbolism
Description: "Very often in Buddhist art, especially Buddhist art of ancient China, one can see small figures, mostly Buddhas, depicted in the halo and/or aureole of a Buddha image, and, less often, of a bodhisattva image (figure 1). What does this mean? Despite the prevalence of this motif, its meaning and its significance in Buddhist history are poorly understood, if understood at all. In fact, emanating other Buddhas is associated with the fundamental nature of the Buddha and the mechanism of how the Buddha functions to spread Buddhist teachings to every corner in the cosmic world. In this regard, the study of this motif--the most immediate purpose of this book--is not only a study of a specific iconographic convention in Buddhist art; it is a study of the revolutionary change in the way Buddha was represented-- a geographical and temporal development that reflected the change of Buddha's nature in the eyes of his followers. This study also involves and sheds light on a number of important iconographies in Buddhist art"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The development of images with emanated figures in the aureole; title: The notion of generating other Buddhas in Buddhism; title: The tranformed-Buddhas and the Buddhas-of-the-ten-directions; title: Bodhisattva as the emanator; title: A possible iconography of Amitābha from Gandhāra; title: The dharmadhātu Buddha images from Kucha; title: The narrative depictions at Kucha and Turfan; title: A Buddha showing realms of rebirth in his aureole; title: Gandhāra: inception of the Mahāyāna element; title: Khotan: flourish in a Mahāyāna area; title: Kucha: a Mahāyāna motif in a Hanayana area; title: Central China: the resonant-body in Chinese cosmology.