Inquire about the Buddha Realm

Author: Zhang Fa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-02-01
Features: This book extensively incorporates research findings on Buddhist art from both English academia (including Indian scholars) and Chinese academia. With the author's unique expertise, it conducts a comprehensive examination of the art of the three major Buddhist circles—Indian Buddhism (including Southeast Asia), Chinese Buddhism (including Korea, Japan, and Vietnam), and Tibetan Buddhism—from a macro perspective. It provides detailed aesthetic analyses of the evolution of the main forms of Buddhist art—such as stupas, caves, temples, and Buddha statues—and conducts cultural analyses of how the same artistic genre manifests differently across the three circles, proposing a set of entirely new explanatory theories. This book holds significant reference value for advancing global Buddhist art research and art history studies, and it also helps art enthusiasts and those interested in Buddhism in identifying Buddhist art forms and appreciating the specific content and symbolic meanings embedded within them. The book includes over a hundred illustrations, with a considerable portion appearing in Chinese literature for the first time.
Introduction: Journeying into Buddhist Realm
When you approach a stupa, walk toward a Buddhist temple, or enter a cave temple, as you gaze at the architectural spaces within the temples, admire the Buddhist murals covering the cave walls, gaze up at the Buddha statues in the niches of stupas, and fix your eyes on the all-seeing smile of the Buddha—what do you see? Is it architectural styles, mural designs, or sculptural forms? Is it religious concepts, transcendent ideals, or the power of faith?