Buddhist Practice and Visual Culture: The Visual Rhetoric of Borobudur (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

Providing an overall interpretation of the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Indonesia, this book looks at Mahayana Buddhist religious ideas and practices that could have informed Borobudur, including both the narrative reliefs and the Buddha images. The author explores a version of the classical Mahayana that foregrounds the importance of the visual in relation to Buddhist philosophy, meditation, devotion, and ritual. The book goes on to show that the architects of Borobudur designed a visual world in which the Buddha appeared in a variety of forms and could be interpreted in three ways: by realizing the true nature of his teaching, through visionary experience, and by encountering his numinous presence in images. Furthermore, the book analyses a particularly comprehensive and programmatic expression of Mahayana Buddhist visual culture so as to enrich the theoretical discussion of the monument. It argues that the relief panels of Borobudur do not passively illustrate, but rather creatively "picture" selected passages from texts. Presenting new material, the book contributes immensely to a new and better understanding of the significance of the Borobudur for the field of Buddhist and Religious Studies. Buddhist Practice and Visual Culture The visual rhetoric of Borobudur 10 Copyright 11 Contents 14 List of figures 16 Acknowledgments 18 Note on transliteration 20 Introduction 22 The Gandavyūha and the religious world of the Śailendras 28 Rhetoric, ritual, and commemoration in monumental architecture 33 Memory and vision in the upper galleries of Borobudur 36 Chapter outlines 39 1 Borobudur: monumental mandala and bodhisattva path 42 Borobudur as a representation of the path 43 Theories of Borobudur as a mandala 51 The mandala principle and the prologue of the Gandavyūha 56 Mandala and path: meeting the embodied teaching 63 2 Carving out time: the narrative relief panels 69 Narrative art and temporality 70 Narrative art and the life of the Buddha on Borobudur 73 Narrative art and the previous lives of the Buddha on Borobudur 77 The problem with time 79 Picturing the Nirmānakāya 82 Narrative art, ritual, and commemoration 87 3 Piecing together space The panorama of the purified field 95 The word-by-word method of picturing the Gandavyūha 97 The purified field and the body of communal enjoyment 103 Images of the purified field on Borobudur 111 Panoramic art, ritual space, and buddhānusmrti as meditative craft 119 4 Pervading space Bodhisattva activity in the cosmic panorama 130 Compassionate multilocation: the manifestations of Maitreya 131 Devotional multilocation: the offerings of Samantabhadra 140 Serlingpa, Atiśa, and the cosmic sequence for giving and taking meditation 151 The cosmic sequence and the upper galleries 156 Ritual circumambulation and the transition from giving to offering 160 5 To emptiness and back: the transformative work of the terraces 168 The cosmic Buddhas of the terraces 170 “Seeing” emptiness: the dharmakāya and the limits of vision 174 Wisdom and generosity: ritual practice on the terraces 183 The descent of the bodhisattva: the stairs 185 The Borobudur mandala reconsidered 189 Conclusion: visual rhetoric and ceremonial diplomacy at Borobudur 193 Notes 201 Bibliography 228 Index 239 This is the first study to provide an overall interpretation of the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Indonesia. Including both the narrative reliefs and the Buddha images, the book opens up a wealth of information on Mahayana Buddhist religious ideas and practices that could have informed Borobudur and it convincingly interprets Borobudur within that context. Presenting new material, the book contributes immensely to a new and better understanding of the significance of the Borobudur for the field of Buddhist and Religious Studies List Of Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Notes On Transliteration -- Introduction -- 1) Borobudur: Monumental Mandala And Bodhisattva Path -- 2) Carving Out Time: The Narrative Relief Panels -- 3) Piecing Together Space: The Panorama Of The Purified Field -- 4) Pervading Space: Bodhisattva Activity In The Cosmic Panorama -- 5) To Emptiness And Back: The Transformative Work Of The Terraces -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Julie A. Gifford. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A study that provides an overall interpretation of the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Indonesia. It helps to understand the significance of the Borobudur for the field of Buddhist and Religious Studies.