No.202 Seminar ： “Origin and Making of Early Pure Land Buddhist Art -Maitreya Bodhisattva or Maitreya Buddha?”
- Associate Professor Tadashi TANABE (Hakubi 11th, Graduate School of Letters)
- 2021/09/07 4:30pm
- Zoom (Closed)
- Japanese
Summary
In Gandhara is the area around Peshawar in northern Pakistan, Buddhist art flourished from the 1st to 3rd centuries. This art borrowed Greco-Roman sculpturing techniques to visualize Buddhist thought and teachings. Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhism prevailed in Gandhara, and it is said that Gandharan Buddhists desired to resurrect in heaven after death. The idea of rebirth in heaven is the thought that one can be reborn in heaven and enjoy various pleasures after death. The Buddha recommended the resurrection in heaven after death to lay-buddhists.
There are Gandharan relief panels that are known to depict the Maitreya Bodhisattvapreaching to the people, who was said to have been born in the Tuṣita heaven after death. He is to descend to this world after 5.67 billion years, and eventually to become the Maitreya Buddha. In this presentation, first, I will attempt to examine the preceding identification that the Maitreya Bodhisattva in the Tuṣita heaven is represented on several preaching scenes and, second, to propose my hypothesis.