Face To Face With The Absent Buddha: The Formation Of Buddhist Aniconic Art Absent Buddha Buddhist Aniconic Art

There are no images of the Buddha in early Buddhist art. This study rejects the notion that this was so because of a prohibition against images of the Buddha, instead arguing that such aniconic art derived from shared traditions with other ancient Indian religious groups and eventually produced aniconic compositions representing the Buddha in a narrative context. There Are No Images Of The Buddha In Early Buddhist Art. Instead, Signs Like A Tree, A Wheel, A Seat And Footprints Seem To Point To His Presence. This So-called Buddhist Aniconic Art Has Been Explained By A Prohibition Against Images Of The Buddha Or By A Doctrine That Made It Inappropriate To Depict The Body Of The Buddha. It Has Also Been Explained By The Practice Of Different Meditational Exercises. This Study Rejects Such Explanations. Instead, Early Art In Buddhist Cultic Places Was A Common Art Shared By Buddhists, Jains And Others As Well. This Study Emphasizes The Transformation Buddhist Aniconic Art Underwent From Auspicious Signs Belonging To A Shared Sacred Indian Culture To Aniconic Compositions Representing The Buddha In A Narrative Context.--jacket. Introduction -- Prohibition And Resistance Against Images Of The Buddha -- Meditation As The Origin Of Buddhist Art -- Towards A Chronology Of Buddhist Aniconic Art -- Signs From A Shared Sacred Indian Culture -- Transformation Of Aniconic Signs -- The Stupa And Early Buddhist Art As Auspicious Signs -- The Buddhist Interpretation Of Auspicious Signs. Klemens Karlsson. Includes Abstract. Thesis (ph.d.)--uppsala University, 2000. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 195-207).