Ms. Morin
May 15, 2015
Blissful Buddha
Sometimes the human race questions what the reason for pain
and suffering is for. Sometimes it all seems pointless. One man in
particular discovered the reason for all pain and suffering, and wanted
to find a way out of it. This man was Siddhartha Gautama, commonly
referred to as the Buddha, who lived approximately in the 4th-6th
century B.C.E. in India. Before the Buddha was born, a fortune teller
predicted that he would be either two things: the greatest ruler of all
time, or he would be a great saint. In an effort to make his son the
greatest ruler of all time, the father of Buddha, Suddhodana, kept his
son inside the palace and ordered that no one, including the guards
take him out of the palace. Under this condition, the Buddha stayed in
the palace up until he was 29 years old. During these 29 years, the
Buddha began to gain curiosity of the world outside the palace. He
began to take rides around the town in his chariot. One day the
Buddha noticed three men. One man was old, the other was a sick
man, and the third was a human corpse. Since Siddhartha Gautama
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had been in the palace for 29 years and had been constantly
surrounded with luxuries, he had never seen anything like these three
men because his father had shielded it from him. Ever since that
moment he began to focus his life on finding a cure for this pain.
There is a striking piece of art that encompasses the aspects of
balancing pain and suffering with happiness. This piece, located at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, is called Seated Buddha Reaching
Enlightenment. The seated Buddha is true for the eternal truth of a
moment of pain leads to a lifetime of glory, because the Buddha had to
go through moments of intense pain such as fasting, and being
detached from the material world, in addition to this he also had to
leave his family but it all lead to the glorious achievement of
enlightenment. Pieces such as the Seated Buddha Reaching
Enlightenment are usually found in monasteries. This can be proven by
a quote from budsas.org, Buddhists are not idol worshippers. The
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sculpture was made in Bihar India in the Nalanda Monastery in the late
10th-11th century. This was during the Pala Period which took place
around the Chola Dynasty.
number in the MET is 20.50.16. The Buddha was created during the
Pala Period, which was around the time of the Chola Empire. During
this time, Buddhism was the most followed religion in Northern India. In
the piece of art, the Buddha is touching the ground, and he is
preparing to reach enlightenment, the greatest achievement in
Buddhism. The sculpture has broken edges that indicate that it was
part of a bigger sculpture, but it was broken off.
In the picture the Buddha is touching the earth using a mudra. A
mudra is a symbolic gesture that is usually performed using the hand.
Each mudra has a different meaning and a different formation of
fingers. This piece of art has one very important mudra. The buddhas
right hand is touching the earth. This mudra is known as
bhumisparshamudra. This represents the moment in which he reached
enlightenment under the bodhi tree.
Geographic shows the audience that the buddha had enjoyed a period
of wealth and prosperity at some time of his life. Another quote from a
sacred buddhist text enforces the fact that the Buddha was wealthy,
At that time the constellation Pushya was auspicious, and from the
side of the queen, who was purified by her vow, her son was born for
the welfare of the world, without pain and without illness. This quote
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exemplifies the pain that the Buddha went through. This pain is
endured when following the Buddhist dharma, which is the duty of
buddhists. This is to detach oneself from the material world and focus
on achieving nirvana. The Buddha went through this pain when trying
to detach himself from his wealth, but in doing this he reached the
ultimate goal of enlightenment.
The Seated Buddha Reaching Enlightenment was made during the
late 10th and 11th century in Bihar India. During this time period the
Pala Period was dominant and thriving. A quote from the Asia Society
Museum justifies how much Buddhist arts flourished under the Pala
Dynasty in Northern India, Pala-ruled areas became one of the last
strongholds of Buddhism in India; as a result, the religion and its arts
thrived. This quote from the Asia Society Museum shows that the arts
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under the Pala Period were promoted, which lead to the creation of the
Seated Buddha Reaching Enlightenment and other pieces of art. This
period of time is especially important because as the previous quote
says, this was one of the last strongholds that Buddhism held before
being invaded by the Islamic Empire. This makes pieces like the Seated
Buddha Reaching Enlightenment even more valuable to historians
because it was one of the last Ancient productions of the Buddha from
Northern India.
The Seated Buddha Reaching Enlightenment was originally made
and found in the Nalanda Monastery in Bihar India. Nalanda is
considered an auspicious place in the wold of Buddhists. It was there
place of birth and nirvana for a famous disciple of Buddha, Sahiputra.
called this harmony of pain and pleasure the Middle Path. The Middle
Path can also be used with emotion, so that oneself is not too happy
and not too sad. This discovery of balancing pain with pleasure
ultimately lead to the glorious achievement of enlightenment.
The eternal truth that A moment of Pain can lead to a lifetime of
glory, is relevant in the ancient world. It is also true in the 21st
century. A great example of where this eternal truth can be found, is in
the world of sports. The journey of athletes and the Buddha are more
similar than most expect. Both the athletes and the Buddha had to
suffer detachment from families. For example, the Buddha had to leave
his family to seek enlightenment. Athletes must participate in matches
and events all around the world, in turn leaving their families. The
Buddha had to experiment a way to reach enlightenment and he
ultimately discovered the middle path. Athletes have to find their own
middle path so they do not let their emotions take over during a
match. However, the key thing that the Buddha and the Athletes both
underwent is suffering. Both the Buddha and Athletes had to undergo
suffering and pain but ultimately for both, all the pain and suffering
lead to glory. With knowing that a moment of pain leads to a lifetime
of Glory. A boxer by the name of Muhammad Ali once said, I hated
every minute of training, but I said, Dont quit. Suffer now and live the
rest of your life as a champion. This quote made by Muhammad Ali
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they were both very tired, and as fuel, they generated this quote. This
quote fueled them to keep working hard and endure the suffering
because they knew that it would lead to a greater outcome. This
outcome for Louie would become competing in the Olympic games and
an amazing tale of survival in World War II. The Eternal Truth that A
moment of pain can lead to a lifetime of glory is true in the Ancient
World, but is is still as true in the modern day, because this truth can
be found in the world of sports in the 21st century.