Rubin Museum project

Kai-Shanet Blackwood

Professor Trusso

Rubin Museum Paper

Due: April 19, 2017

Rubin Museum and Buddhism

The Rubin Museum, situated in Chelsea Manhattan, houses many ancient and historical artifacts of Buddhism and Hinduism from India. This museum is organized elegantly with each floor displaying different sculptures, relics, and painting of Buddhism and Hinduism. The museum stimulates a great learning experience and connects anyone who visits to the rest of the world and other cultures in India and Tibet. Buddhism teaches that the world is impermanent and full of suffering, hence we should be compassionate to all other beings as we all come from a dependent origin. In my studies of Buddhism thus far, the museum has adequately but subtly depicted essential philosophical doctrines through the artwork in each exhibition. The piece that grabbed my attention the most was a painting of a Buddhist, Phagmo Drupa, with some of his past lives depicted in little rectangles around him.

The piece of art entitled “Phagmo Drupa with Episodes from his Lives” initially attracted me with its bright red color in contrast to the duller pieces and statues in the museum. When I took a closer look at this piece, it was intriguing to see the many depictions of Phagmo Drupa in his lifetime such as him as a god, a monkey and as royalty. Phagmo Drupa’s facial expression in this piece seemed blissful, it appeared as though he was smiling which was a huge contrast to the facial expressions in other paintings and statues. This piece was created with intricate details and was beautifully crafted.

This piece illustrates a charismatic Buddhist, Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo, surrounded by a few portraits of his current and past lives. It is made from some form of pigment on a cloth dating back to 1270 C.E. It belongs to the Taklung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and was consecrated by Sanggye Onpo who was a teacher at the Taklung School (rubinmuseum.org). Phagmo Drupa lived between the years of 1110-1170 and was a disciple of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen who was a physician and student of another teacher at the time. Phagmo Drupa founded one of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings, Phagmodru, and its hermitage situated in Nedong, Tibet. Following his death, a few of his disciples decided to continue his teachings so they organized a monastery with his teachings. The monastery that was built eventually grew into a wealthy estate controlled only by one family. This formed the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which ruled a part of Tibet from 1354 to 1618. Eventually, one of eight schools was founded by a disciple of Phagmo Drupa known as Taklung Thangpa Chenpo (1142–1210) to whom this painting belonged.

Immediately after observing this artwork it was evident that reincarnation (samsara) is one of many doctrines that play an integral part of the message that is embedded in this piece. Reincarnation is the perpetual karmic cycle of death and rebirth and the cessation thereof is only attainable through following the Eightfold Path. According to the book Indian Philosophy in Buddhism, “one phenomenon or event acts as the cause that sets another into motion” and as a result causes the attachment of karma(Hamilton, 76). Karma reflects our past lives which shapes our present and is passed on with the “flame” within us to continue as a new life in Samsara. This “flame” does not contain the “self” as there is no “internal self” that is passed on from lifetime to lifetime but instead apart of us that lives on but is not identifiable with only one being. “This wheel of birth and death operates primarily because of the three root afflictions: greed, hate and delusion” (Fisher, 76) so the only way to attain liberation from reincarnation and dukkha, as this is every Buddhist’s goal, is to surpass greed, hate and delusion to be more generous (non-greedy), loving and non-delusional. This piece exhibits reincarnation not only through the many aspects of Phagmo Drupa’s life but also through the fact that the different depictions that bordered the piece alluded to the cycle of life, death and rebirth which can be summarized as the cycle of suffering. Though it is a rectangle, it still depicts how reincarnation is an ongoing occurrence and without an end. The large portrait of Phagmo Drupa in the middle has no attachment to anything and it shows him seated on a throne, which depicts his liberation from reincarnation and enlightenment through Nirvana.

Buddhism stemmed from Hinduism many years ago by Siddhārtha, the first Buddha, who was initially born into a Hindu family. Though these religions have varying concepts, many terms and doctrines are used in both Buddhism and Hinduism, some which have similar meanings and others with a fundamental difference. Samsara in both Hinduism and Buddhism refers to the reincarnation of a being from its previous life, but they vary slightly within each religion. They both believe that there is one point in life where one can be detached from the karmic cycle of samsara and liberated from desires and ignorance to reach to a higher level of consciousness and utter blissfulness. In contrast to Buddhism, there is an internal self, Atman, in Hinduism, that is released from the karmic cycle of reincarnation and reaches Moksha. The atman will be reabsorbed into the ultimate reality which is Brahman but only Brahmins can achieve this. It takes many lifetimes and leveling up of various rankings in the caste system through Dharma to attain Moksha while in Buddhism, anyone, no matter their status, can attain Nirvana in their lifetime. According to Living Religions: A Brief Introduction, “the soul leaves the dead body and enters a new one. One takes birth again and again in countless bodies-perhaps as an animal or some other life form- but the self remains the same.” For both religions, being a human is the most precious life form because it is the only way the atman or anatman can be most capable of advancing to total liberation from the karmic cycle.

All religions have some congruent themes where the ultimate goal is to be liberated from something and gain spiritual upliftment. Religion is defined as the belief or worship of a Deity or God/gods but according to dictionary.com, religion can also be defined as the “pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.” In other words, though Buddhism can be alluded to as a philosophy of life, it is also suiting to consider it a religion as many people throughout the world pursue this path as it is important to attaining enlightenment without the aid of supernatural intervention. “Buddhism is not a religion of God. Buddhism is a religion of wisdom, enlightenment and compassion” (Fisher, 73), therefore Buddhism is a religion but without the acknowledgement of a God. Some may confuse Siddhārtha as the God of Buddhism as he was wise and the first awakened one. However, he was simply a human, just like everyone else, who through his own efforts attained enlightenment in his lifetime. He used his knowledge to guide others to achieve Nirvana and tried to uncover the truths of life. In the PBS film, The Buddha, the Buddha journey is described as “a means to an end, not just an end” which means that the Eightfold Path is meant to be a guide but just as everything is impermanent, so is the teachings, therefore attaining Nirvana can occur through many different ways and is subjected to the individual and inevitable change.

            Eastern religions have always intrigued me because it’s doctrines and practices are so different from western religions. It wasn’t very popular in my country, so being able to learn about Buddhism and Hinduism wasn’t feasible in my Christian-dominated country, Jamaica. The concept of religion through Buddhism is particularly appealing, as one of the fundamental part of this popular religion is the absence of a God or supernatural being. I realized that religion is subject to an individual and never truly permanent. Just as Christianity underwent multiple changes, so has Hinduism and Buddhism. I learnt that maybe it is possible to seek answers from within and through my own efforts without depending on a monotheistic God as I was raised to believe. Being in the Rubin Museum and walking around at my own leisure made it so much easier to really engage with each artwork, and it gave me the opportunity to use my knowledge of Buddhism and my Christian background to creatively correlate the work of art with doctrines and challenge my own beliefs.

Reference

Rubin Museum of Art, “Phakmodrupa (1110-1170) with episodes from his lives”         rubinmuseum.org. 2005

Hamilton, Sue. “Chapter 4: Buddhism.” Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford   University Press, 2001.

Fisher, Mary Pat. “Chapter 3: Renouncing the Household.” Living Religions: A Brief       Introduction. 2^nd ED., Pearson, 2008.

Fisher, Mary Pat. “Supplement on Caste System.” Anthology of Living Religions, 3^rd ED.,      Pearson 2011.

PBS Documentary. “The Buddha,” directed by David Grubin, Narrated by Richard Gere, PBS,            2010.