Luke Ferguson's Rubin Museum Project

Luke Ferguson                                    4/19/17
HUP 105                                    Professor Trusso


    Buddhism, just like any other religion can be very confusing.There are so many different traditions, paintings, statues and objects that hold very strong beliefs relating to the major doctrines in this religion. In Buddhism, our freedom from suffering depends on our own efforts. The man who became known a the Buddha, which means “Awakened One” was a historical figure who taught about suffering on earth and the ways to cure it because he himself conquered it and was able to become enlightened. Enlightenment is a state of perfect knowledge, wisdom along with endless compassion. Honestly, going to the Rubin Museum of art was a very confusing experience for me. There were so many different objects, paintings, and statues, and I didn't know which 5 to choose. And what made it even more difficult, was that to truly get the real understanding behind these visuals, a lot of extra research was required.
    The object that I chose (1a) was a statue called the Black Jambhala made in Tibet in the 13th century. What stood out to me about this statue was a rather chubby man holding the mongoose regurgitating what seemed to be coins or money while stepping on somebody. In the description, Jambhala is said to be the god of wealth. Jambhala’s chubby figure represents wealth found across Asia. This whole image represents eliminating greed, which is said to be a poison, in order to bring wealth. Snakes are a symbol of evil which is why a mongoose is being used in the representation to show the opposite meaning. By Jambhala stepping on the man, he is stopping his temptation/greed for wanting the gold coming out of the mongooses mouth. (Buddhist Deity: Jambhala (Black). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017)
The doctrine that I believe relates to this statue is Nirvana. Nirvana is the spiritual goal of  the Buddhist practice. The only way to enter the ultimate state of Nirvana is by dying because that is what ends all suffering, cravings, and karmic consequences. (Living Religions, p. 77) It is also said that the word Nirvana means to blow out, “and refers to the extinguishing of the fires of greed, hatred, and illusion.” (Buddhist Studies: Nirvana. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.) This relates to Jambhala because he represents fighting temptations and eliminating greed to achieve Nirvana.
In Buddhism Nirvana and Samsara are very close in relation because after you reach Nirvana, you are released from the cycle of birth which is Samsara, ending all suffering and reaching enlightenment. I believe that the doctrine of Samsara can relate to the doctrine of Reincarnation in Hinduism. According to Mary Pat Fisher in Chapter 3 of Living Religions, Reincarnation is the belief that after we die, “the soul leaves the body and enters a new one. One takes birth again in countless bodies-perhaps as an animal or some other life form-but the self remains the same.” (pg.42) Basically, after we die, our souls are reborn in the world as a different life form. These two doctrines are very similar due to the fact that they both occur in the afterlife. In Reincarnation, you die and are reborn as something else to start a brand new life. Another similarity that these two doctrines share is that you can be released from both of these cycles to reach a higher state which is Enlightenment. With that being said, in order to reach Enlightenment going through these cycles is required. The difference between these doctrines and religions is that in Hinduism, the way to be released from reincarnation is to accept that everything including your soul is one with Brahman. In Buddhism, like I mentioned before, in order to get released from Samsara you must reach spiritual enlightenment, Nirvana.
Buddhism is said to be a nontheistic religion due to the fact that there is no personal God who creates the world or who to pray to. Buddha, from where the religion's name came from,  was a historical figure, a man who was said to have reached Enlightenment by being able to find the cure that stops human suffering on Earth. (Living Religions p. 73) I do not believe that Buddhism can be perceived as a religion because of this. Buddha was not a God and went through human suffering so how is he the leader of Buddhism when he was just a man? I have learned many things from this experience about religion in general. Religion is more than just a belief system, but a lifestyle for those who follow, and it is not just for Buddhism, but Hinduism, Christianity and others as well. Religion is our reality and for the most part many people do not search for scientific evidence. This experience was able to open my mind, because it allowed me to relate religions that I wasn’t knowledgeable about to other religions, as well as my own. It made me realize the connections between all religions and the constant strive for people to better themselves.












   

   
1a. The Black Jambhala


The Crowned Buddha


Maitreya, The Future Buddha


  Kula Kari, The Protector of Lodrak


The Great Spiritual Adept (Mashiddha) Virupa

















                    Work Cited

(Buddhist Deity: Jambhala (Black). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017)
(Buddhist Studies: Nirvana. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.)
(Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. Boston, Pearson, 2017.)



Comments

  1. UnknownMay 29, 2017 at 9:31 AM

    I don't understand your conclusion. You say that Buddhism isn't a religion because Buddha was mortal correct? But then you also claim that religion is a lifestyle. How exactly do you support the idea that religions are required to have a god?

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousMay 30, 2017 at 2:56 PM

      Yes, I believe that Buddhism is not a religion because Buddha was mortal, and yes I believe that religion is a lifestyle as well. But I feel as though the creator, the all knowing and all powerful being is the one that creates these laws and lifestyles for us to abide by. It has to be created by something more powerful than just a regular human (Buddha) because this being is the one that created the world itself just as the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian people believe.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 1, 2017 at 5:34 PM

    Learning about the complexities of doctrines and philosophical debates from the main religions of this world really opened up my mind. I have been in Catholic school all of my life, so growing up, I knew nothing about any other religion besides Christianity. I was raised going to church every single Sunday along with every holiday that the church celebrated. So it was enjoyable for me to learn about these new religions from an insider's view rather than an outsider looking in, unaware of what the religion is really about. I was very surprised when I learned about how closely related some of the world religions are such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam and their belief in one God. It was even more interesting to learn about the doctrines and beliefs in Hinduism and Buddhism because of how different they are to what I have been taught all of my life. I very much enjoyed looking in depth and learning about these new religions and doctrines from a different perspective. It was also very shocking to see how they can apply and relate to other topics that we discuss in class .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paula LunaJune 12, 2017 at 7:12 PM

    I like your work, it seems that you are direct and rather genuine with your opinions. Although, I do believe you can still improve so by elaborating more on your points and maybe cohesiveness. Nevertheless, it is good!

    ReplyDelete

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