Asian Art History Written Assignment

Zheng Jiayin
U0930491A Group 7

Although the Buddha image is known for its austere, conservative appearance, representations of a crowned Buddha had surfaced not only in India, but also in foreign regions where Buddhism spread to. In this paper, I will seek to investigate the emergence of such representations and its affiliation with kingship. According to Buddhist scriptures, Siddhartha had been prophesized to become either a chakravartin king, a ruler of the entire world, or a fully enlightened Buddha1. This reveals connections between Siddhartha and the royal path of chakravartin (ancient Indian conception of a universal monarch whose chariot wheels roll everywhere2) from childhood, but as we all know, Siddhartha eventually renounced worldly existence and became a fully enlightened Buddha. So why did depictions of Buddha in ostentatious, regal finery still appear? One of the most common explanations is that the crowned Buddha iconography stood for Buddha Maitreya or the future Buddha who waited as a bejeweled and crowned Bodhisattva (usually portrayed more flamboyantly and lavishly than a conventional Buddha) for his rebirth. The image shown on the left is one example of a crowned and seated Buddha, in Pala-Sena style. Whether it is a Maitreya Buddha is highly disputed, because there are no records which designate a Pala-Sena statue as a symbol of Maitreya3. Also, other than the crown, this statue portrays Buddha in a fairly typical way plainly attired, with no stately ornamentation and jewellery. It is very possible then that the crowned iconography could have been an attempt by devotees to reunite Buddhas asceticism with the chakravartin prophecy; after all, both are wheel turners one turns the wheel of Buddhist sutras, and the
Crowned Seated Buddha, Pala-Sena style, Bihar, 1000 AD

other the wheel of worldly power.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Introduction to Buddhism: An Explanation of the Buddhist Way of Life (England: Tharpa Publications, 1992), 4-9. 2 Chakravartin, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104554/chakravartin, (October 2010). 3 Carol Stratton and Miriam McNair Scott, Buddhist sculpture of Northern Thailand (Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2004), 58.

Crowned Buddha, Burma, c. 1300-1400

Crowned Buddha, Burma, c. 1400

Crowned Buddha, Tibet, c. 1500

Conversely, the appearance of crowned Buddhas overseas most likely arose from complications in foreign absorption of Buddhist teachings. The legend of Jambupati while unknown in India had become very popular in Burma and Siam in the 14th century; and in this story, Buddha transforms into a chakravartin set in an astoundingly majestic palace, in order to convince the cynical king Jambupati to convert to Buddhism4. The middle image is an offspring of this myth, showing Buddha adorned in princely robes, armlets, an elaborate crown and highly festooned split ears. This could be an indication of Buddhas years of meditation as a spiritual practitioner (yogi), during which the weight of the yogis bone earrings had split his ears5. On the right we see a Tibetan interpretation of the crowned Buddha which bears seven primary possessions of a chakravartin, consisting of (a) a rhinoceros horn; (b) a pair of interlocked square earrings; (c) a branch of red coral; (d) a pair of interlocked round earrings; (e) a crossed insignia; (f) a pair of elephant tusks; and (g) a triple-eyed gem hemmed in by a trefoil gold mount6. The absorption of chakravartin emblems into Tibetan Buddhist iconography shows the transformation of the Buddhist image to that of a royal entity.
4 5

Crown Buddha, http://www.aziatischekunst.com/Explanation-statues/Crown-buddha/28/1/3/, (October 2010). Yuvraj Krishan, The Buddha image: its origin and development (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pte Ltd, 1996), 135. 6 Robert Beer, The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols (USA: Serindia Publications Inc, 2003), 46-48.

As for the figure on the left, the simple monastic robe leads upwards to an ornate, decorative collar, earrings, and finally, an emperor-esque high crown. The luxurious embellishments suggest that this Buddha image is a representation of Maitreya, and perhaps, its remarkably individualized facial features point towards its service as an idealized portrait of deceased aristocracy7. Or, you could say that it was an externalisation of a historical monarchs wish to be reborn as Buddha. All in all, the crowned Buddha not only signifies the conferment of supreme power to iconography; depending on cultural context, it may also indicate aristocrats patronage of Buddhism, and on a greater level, the interchangeability between Buddha and kingship.

Lorna Price, Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988), 102.

Bibliography 1. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Introduction to Buddhism: An Explanation of the Buddhist Way of Life (England: Tharpa Publications, 1992), 4-9. 2. Carol Stratton and Miriam McNair Scott, Buddhist sculpture of Northern Thailand (Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2004), 58. 3. Yuvraj Krishan, The Buddha image: Its origin and development (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pte Ltd, 1996), 135. 4. Robert Beer, The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols (USA: Serindia Publications Inc, 2003), 46-48. 5. Donald K. Swearer, The Buddhist world of Southeast Asia (USA: State University of New York Press, 1995), 72-77. 6. Donald K. Swearer, Becoming the Buddha: the ritual of image consecration in Thailand (UK: Princeton University Press, 2004), 16-22. 7. Lorna Price, Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988). 8. Chakravartin, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104554/chakravartin, (October 2010). 9. Crown Buddha, http://www.aziatischekunst.com/Explanation-statues/Crown-buddha/28/1/3/, (October 2010).