Twenty-five centuries of Buddhist art and culture
Twenty-five centuries of Buddhist art and culture
One of the great merits of our present century is the attempt being made to know and to appreciate the arts of other lands, other peoples and ages. The parochial attitude of the past, marked so often by snapjudgment antipathy of blind-spot vision, has been superseded by a broader, more catholic taste and a sincere desire to understand and love works of art which are the expression of cultures wholly different from our own.
We have come a long way from the astounding statement made by Ruskin that the art of India was "unnatural... and wanting in truth," or such peremptory announcements concerning Asian art as the one made by a European professor of archaeology who wrote in 1864: "There is no temptation to dwell at length on the sculpture of Hindustan. It affords no assistance in tracing the history of art, and its debased quality deprives it of all interest as a work of art."
Yet even in more recent times, the appreciation of the ancient arts of Asia has often been hampered by those who have most ardently attempted to interpret them to the newcomer. As one writer recently expressed it in India, we must take care lest a "smokescreen of spiritualism" be laid between the uninitiated beholder and the simple aesthetic enjoyment of art, with the result that one is left with the feeling that without a full knowledge of the philosophical writings and religious canon of Buddhism, for example, no approach to the understanding of Buddhist art can be made.
Buddhist art is essentially religious, but the arts of. Egypt, of Medieval Europe, of Negro Africa and the ancient Mayas were religious too. Are we to say that no attempt to grasp the beauty of Luxor or Chartres can be made without a fine knowledge of their religious portent?
In this special issue, prepared on the occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the Supreme Enlightenment and death (pari-nirvana) of the Buddha, the Unesco Courier has sought to give its readers both a panorama of the great masterpieces of sculpture, architecture and painting of Buddhist art in Asia, and a glimpse of some of the ethical ideals and the message of peace, gentleness and mercy which Buddhism, "one of the noblest edifices of thought ever created by the human spirit," has inspired.
Buddhists, particularly in South Asia, celebrate the birth, the Enlightenment and the death of the Buddha on May 24, the day of the May full moon. But for the 2,500th anniversary special festivals, ceremonies and pilgrimages will continue for one full year. As the birthplace of Buddhism, India has made elaborate arrangements for the historic event. At the great historical centres of Buddhismthe village of Lumbini, outside Kapilavastu (now in Nepal) where Buddha was born; Bodh Gaya where he achieved Enlightenment, Sarnath, where he preached his first sermon, and Kusingar where he died pilgrims have already arrived from all parts of the world.
In November, a congress on Buddhism and an exhibition of Buddhist art will coincide with Unesco's 9th General Conference in New Delhi, and with a symposium organized there by Unesco on Buddhism's contribution to philosophy, literature and the arts during its 2,500 years' history.