One of the first sights encountered by visitors to Buddhist temples is a large painting of the wheel of rebirth, depicting in horrific detail the pains (less often the pleasures) that await people after death. In this illustrated talk, Stephen F. Teiser explains how these representations of the Buddhist worldview have been imagined in Buddhist art over the centuries. The lecture offers an introduction to Buddhist cosmology, Buddhist art, and the spatial and ritual organization of Buddhist temples in India, central Asia, China, and Tibet.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, Asie, temples bouddhiques

New discoveries in the Buddhist art of South India, The life of the Buddha from Phanigiri, Andhra PradeshRecent discoveries and excavations have significantly transformed the map of ancient Buddhist India. One of the most impressive of the new sites is Phanigiri in Andhra Pradesh – a hill-top monastic complex with a large stupa and numerous other structures. The phase presented in this lecture dates from the first to the third centuries CE. Two architraves from a gateway of the stupa were unearthed in 2005. One is carved with scenes from the life of the Buddha. The second architrave is devoted to post-Nirvana scenes, as yet unidentified, featuring monks, relics, and snakes. Other fragments and artefacts include jataka medallions and stone footprints of the Buddha.The lecture is based on a visit made to the site in March, 2005.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, iconographie, Inde du sud, Phanigiri

Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, lieux de culte, Myanmar

The Buddha Sakymuni’s entry into nirvana was a moment of great significance in the history of Buddhism. Pictorial representations of this event began to gain prevalence in China in the sixth century and had remained a major subject in Chinese Buddhist art ever since. In this talk, Sonya Lee focuses on nirvana images especially made for underground pagoda crypts with Buddhist relics enshrined inside. From painted murals to decorations on reliquaries and freestanding sculptures, the many variations in which the motif appeared in relic deposits point to sophisticated uses of visual images to define the kind and symbolic values of the relics that they accompanied. Selected examples from the eighth to twelfth centuries are examined to better illuminate the material dimensions of relic worship as well as some fundamental changes that Buddhism underwent in its continued engagement in medieval Chinese society.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, bouddhisme, Chine

A number of suggestions have been made on interrelationships between Central Javanese temples, Borobudur, Pawon, Mendut, Sewu, and Loro Jonggrang. Also, a number of different suggestions have been made to place the monuments chronologically within the framework of Central Javanese history. In this lecture I wish to contribute to the discussions on interrelationships between Central Javanese temples on the basis of a study of the ornamentation adorning the Central Javanese temples.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, Indonésie, Java, temples bouddhiques

This paper attempts to address one of the issues of the series, viz. patronage, not just the relationship between Buddhist monastic centres and kings, but more significantly the lay community and its continuing support of monks and nuns and sponsorship of ritual activities, as well as maintenance of monastic structures. Eastern India is here defined as the state of Orissa, but includes contiguous coastal regions. The time period covered ranges from the 4th-3rd centuries BC when the earliest Buddhist sites are in evidence to 12th century AD after which few new constructions are known. My approach to the study of early Buddhist monastic establishments departs from the traditional perspective that viewed these as retreats, away from society, where monks and nuns engaged in meditation and studies. In contrast, I suggest that there was an active engagement between Buddhist clergy and the lay community and this interaction can be understood through the archaeology of space as it was defined with reference to settlement sites and as it was configured and lived in by monks and nuns. Of crucial importance to my work is the social history of the monument, rather than an emphasis on architectural style and form. It is hoped that this contribution will reinvigorate the archaeological study of early Buddhist monuments.Dr. Himanshu Prabha Ray is Professor at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She obtained her MPhil (Archaeology) from the University of Cambridge; her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University; and did post-graduate work in Sanskrit at Panjab University. She has held several visiting positions, including Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, Singapore July to September 2007; JNU Visiting Fellow in Arts, University of Sydney, Australia, June 2005; Shivdasani Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, October-December 2005; Visiting Professor: University of Lyon II, France May to July 2001; Fulbright Visiting Lecturer: Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, January to April, 2000. Her recent publications include Colonial Archaeology in South Asia (1944-1948): The Legacy of Mortimer Wheeler, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2007; Monuments, Wisdom Tree, New Delhi, 2007; The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia, Cambridge World Archaeology Series, Cambridge University Press, 2003 and edited volumes titled: Sacred Landscapes in Asia: Shared Traditions, Multiple Histories, IIC - Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2007; co-edited with Daniel T. Potts, Memory as History: The Legacy of Alexander in Asia, Aryan Books International, 2007; co-edited with Edward A. Alpers, Cross Currents and Community Networks: The History of the Indian Ocean World, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2007; and Coins in India: Power and Communication ,Marg Publications, volume 57, 3, March 2006.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, bouddhisme, Inde, monastères bouddhiques

Les travaux épigraphiques et archéologiques concernant le Champa ancien ont mis en avant, depuis longtemps, l’importance du bouddhisme dans le courant des 8e-10e siècles. Les textes conservés permettent de se faire une certaine idée de la forme du Mahâyâna pratiqué par les Cham à cette époque. Mais les témoignages archéologiques se font davantage l’écho du contexte culturel large et varié dans lequel s’inscrit ce mouvement bien original qui participe tant du monde indien que de celui de la Chine.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : art bouddhique, Asie, bouddhisme, Cham, Champa, Indochine