Enlightened – The Realm of the Buddhas

According to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama who, after the awakening, was given the honorary title Buddha Shakyamuni was born as a prince in Lumbini on the border between today’s states of India and Nepal. He grew up in his father’s palace in Kapilavastu, before leaving his home as a young man to search for the source of all suffering. He finally attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya after meditating for a long time. He presented his teachings on the origins of suffering and how to overcome it for the first time in Sarnath, a small town in Northern India. He died in old age in Kushinagar, surrounded by close followers.

The relief from the Indian city of Mathura shows the Buddha’s empty throne under a peepul tree. It stands for his enlightment, bodhi, a condition marked by the overcoming of greed, hatred, and ignorance. Hence, Siddhartha Gautama became Buddha Shakyamuni, the wise man from the noble Shakya family. Thereafter he travelled across northern India, teaching the people about the origins of suffering and how to overcome it. His following grew by the day and, before long, led to the establishment of the first orders of Buddhist monks and nuns. Shakyamuni encouraged them not to blindly follow his teachings but to subject them to close scrutiny.

The Monastic Tibet Institute in Rikon near Winterthur is the spiritual centre of Europe’s largest Tibetan diaspora. The wheel above the entrance is flanked by two deer – in reference to the Buddha’s first sermon at Sarnath.

The Wheel of the Law, dharmachakra, stands for the essence of Buddhism. At the same time, it points the way out of the eternal and suffering-laden cycle of rebirths. The Buddhist teachings, dharma, are based on the «four noble truths».

According to Buddhist understanding, all living beings experience multiple rebirths. The actions and attitudes of the previous existence, karma, define the nature of rebirth. The ultimate aim is to leave the ongoing cycle of rebirths, samsara. After his death, the Buddha’s teachings, which had until then been transmitted orally, were collected by experienced monks and discussed in a series of assemblies before being recorded in manuscripts from the 1st century BCE onwards.

After his death, the Buddha’s ashes, his bones and teeth were distributed across various burial mounds. Out of these mounds, the stupa developed: resting on a round or semi-spherical base is a rectangular shape that contains the relics and which is surmounted by a crowned spire. Over the centuries, ever more monuments were built in Asia to hold Buddhist relics. Up to this day, they serve as important pilgrimage sites.

In different countries, the relic shrines are known under different names: stupa in India, dagoba in Sri Lanka, paya in Myanmar, chedi in Thailand, ta in China, to in Japan, and chörten in Tibet. Pagoda is a commonly used umbrella term in East and Southeast Asia.

In the second and third centuries, Mathura became a political and cultural centre in northern India. The rulers of the Kushan empire not only promoted long-distance trade but also art and religion. It resulted in stimulating exchanges and the development of a religious imagery that markedly shaped early Buddhist and Hindu art.

The Gandhara region situated on the border between modern Pakistan and Afghanistan, was connected with the Mediterranean through the intercontinental trade between Asia and Europe. The flourishing trade attracted numerous artisans, who created a plethora of images, thus advancing the spread of Buddhist art.

The recorded texts mention a total of 32 major and 80 minor characteristics of the Buddha. They portray him as a mahapurusha, a great personality. The artists of the time took some of these characteristics into account in their work, thus creating an idealized image of an enlightened being. The template was then fused with the local art traditions of the various regions.

Most of the depictions showing a seated Buddha emphasize his meditative nature, while the standing figures express vibrancy and mindfulness.

From India, Buddhism spread south to Sri Lanka and across the sea to Myanmar, Thailand, and Java. To this day, Theravada Buddhism, the “School of the Elders”, is dominant in these countries. Following trade and pilgrimage routes, Buddhist teachings also spread north to China, Korea and Japan from the 1st century on.

In the countries along this northern route, Mahayana Buddhism, the “Great Path”, is widespread. From the 8th century on, Buddhism also began to prevail in the Himalayan countries. The dominant school in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia is Vajrayana Buddhism, the “Diamond Path”, which was also adopted in parts of China and Japan.

In many countries monks and nuns conduct an alms procession in the streets every morning. The ritual gives people an opportunity to donate and thereby gain spiritual merit. According to Theravada, every human being must try to attain enlightenment through their own effort. The only thing they have to rely on is the Buddha as a human role model and his teachings. By overcoming the spiritual evils of greed, hate, and ignorance, and practising intensive meditation, it is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime after experiencing multiple rebirths, and thus become an arhat, a Worthy One.

The best-known bodhisattva is Avalokiteshvara. He stands for absolute compassion. According to one legend, he was so concerned about all the misery and suffering in the world that his head burst into a thousand pieces. His spiritual father, Buddha Amitabha, put the pieces together again with the result that he now had ten heads. He placed his own head at the top. With his many eyes, Avalokiteshvara is now able to detect all the suffering in the world and help wherever he is needed.

Apart from male, there are female bodhisattvas as well which people can invoke in times of distress. Shyama Tara, the Green Tara, provides assistance in all difficult situations. She probably once developed out of a celestial body, which guided travellers along the famous Silk Road. Now she provides guidance on the path to enlightenment.

Bodhisattva Maitreya is destined to become the Buddha of the Future, in 500 years at the earliest according to our time reckoning. He is the only one shown in a seated position, with both feet touching the ground. His hands display the gesture of explanation. According to Buddhist tradition, Buddha Shakyamuni was neither the first nor the last buddha. On a time scale, his predecessors and successors, respectively, are described as the buddhas of the past, present, and future.

The Tantric master Padmasambhava had numerous male and female disciples. Two of them became his wise consorts and are often depicted with him. Padmasambhava is considered as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet and other Himalayan countries. He reached Tibet in the eighth century on the back of a tigress where he defeated the demons that reigned there, and had the first Buddhist monastery built.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the state of enlightenment is reflected on three hierarchically arranged levels called trikaya.
The lowest level is the place of the earthly Buddhas; they can be experienced by all human beings. They include the historical Buddha Shakyamuni and the future Buddha Maitreya.
The second level is the realm of the transcendent Buddhas. They are subject to neither time nor space, stand for wisdom and liberation, and are only perceptible in meditation.
On the highest level, the primordial Buddha embodies the highest truth which can only be grasped in the moment of enlightenment.

Enlightenment cannot be described visually. In Japanese Zen Buddhism, which grew from the Mahayana tradition, calligraphy is used as a method to train the mind. The resulting pictorial works are an expression of the spiritual practice and, at the same time, indicate how the performer’s enlightenment spirit is unfolding.