A day at the Rubin Museum of Art

Paula Hazel Luna

Professor Trusso

Philosophy of Religion

22 April 2017

The Rubin Museum of Art: A sculpture of Buddha Shakyamuni

        The Rubin Museum of Art located in Chelsea, Manhattan in New York City is designed to promote learning and understanding towards the art and culture in Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas, which is situated in India. Its display of valuable paintings, antiquities and a few interactive instruments stimulates interests in Hinduism and Buddhism. The museum’s art exhibits are well-organized and descriptive enough to provide a better understanding of the ideas portrayed in each art. The sculpture entitled, ‘’Buddha Shakyamuni’’ has come to be the most intriguing piece I found in the public display. Its overall golden color with the Buddha’s curly hair painted black and a hint of turquoise for the earrings on buddha’s elongated earlobes, initially caught my attention. The details on the sculpture’s robe, as to distinguish its characteristic as a covering, drew me to examine much more closely for details. 

       The protruding black-painted hair of the sculpture of the Shakyamuni Buddha metaphorically represents the ‘’weeds of ignorance.’’ It is believed by many buddhists that before Siddhartha Gautama decided to release himself of his palace and riches, he cut his long curly hair which symbolized his liberty from the illusions of the world. The turquoise color of the earrings of the Shakyamuni Buddha sculpture was simply chosen under the scope of the Khasa Malla aesthetic. As for his ears, long with elongated earlobes, there are two interpretations. Some believed that the reason for Buddha’s elongated earlobes was due to his large and heavy jewelry use, displaying his wealth in his early life, and have stayed as so even after he ceased using them. Another interpretation is that the Buddha’s elongated earlobes symbolizes wisdom and compassion. Some buddhists believe that ‘’with his ears, Buddha is able to always hear all the sounds of the world and the cries of suffering mortal beings. He in turn responds with compassion.’’ The same idea serves to explain the state of the ears of the Boddhisatvas. Also, as thin as it might be, the robe that Siddhartha Gautama used during his life as a Buddha, displayed the idea of no attachment to the worldly materials --- fancy clothing and of the like. It takes away the underlying personal attributes to one’s impressions because of what they wear. Furthermore, as I gaze upon the ‘’Buddha Shakyamuni’’ sculpture, the lotus markings on Buddha’s hands and feet are apparent. Lotus flowers bloom in muddy waters, such lotus symbol represents the literal meaning with which that is to survive and rise through the sufferings and agony of the world. In Buddhism, different colors of the lotus flower represent different ideas. From the sculpture I have chosen of the ‘’Buddha Shakyamuni,’’ the color of the lotus is considered to be gold, representing the attainment of enlightenment. Moreover, notice the overall posture of ‘’Buddha Shakyamuni,’’ with his legs crossed and his right hand touching the ground. During this moment, Siddhartha was believed to be under a tree in Bodh Gaya, and six years in searching for enlightenment (nirvana). He promised himself that he will not cease to meditate until he reaches enlightenment, and during this spiritual journey, he was tempted and teased by the evil forces of Mara. This position is known to be the ‘’Calling of the Earth to Witness,’’ where Mara, the demon of illusion, demanded of Siddhartha to produce a witness to prove his achievement of reaching enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama reaches for the earth, and the earth goddess responded, ‘’I am your witness.’’ Immediately, Mara and his evil forces vanished. 

        The doctrine in Buddhism that can be seen in play with the sculpture of the ‘Shakyamuni Buddha’’ is Buddha himself. Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to ever reach enlightenment and who became the first buddha. Information about his early life and his teachings after he reached enlightenment was never documented, but was rather passed orally from one generation to the next. According to legend, Siddhartha Gautama was born in the hands of luxury and had a life of ease awaiting for him. However, even though he did not need to worry about what to eat or wear on a daily basis, he was still unsatisfied of life’s essence, and began questioning his purpose and life’s purpose. From this, it was believed that the gods have decided to expose Siddhartha of ‘’four sights,’’ which consisted of: ‘’a bent old man, a sick person, a dead person, and a mendicant seeking lasting happiness rather than temporal pleasure.’’ As a result, he decided to renounce everything that was familiar to him --- his palace, his riches, his wife and son. Siddhartha began his journey in pursuit of a very difficult goal: how to attain total liberation from suffering ( ‘’Buddhism’’ 71 ). With his passion and great dedication to finding life’s essentiality, he was able to achieve nirvana and even with Mara, the personification of evil, with her attempts for Siddhartha to cease from sharing his knowledge and wisdom to the world, the Buddha could not be stopped. He went off with his journey to teach and there was an increase in the amount of followers that he had. ‘’The Enlightened One’s teaching and personality were apparently so compelling that many people were transformed simply by meeting him’’ (‘’Buddhism’’ 72 ). The Buddha’s teachings, which refers to the Dharma, consists of three pillars: the Four Noble Truths, the Three Marks of Existence and the Noble Eightfold Path. Two of which that are emphasized in Buddha’s teaching are the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths consists the idea of the existence of Dukkha (which refers to suffering and frustration), the origin of Dukkha, one way of extinguishing Dukkha is to rid of one’s desires, and that only by following the Noble Eightfold Path can desire and suffering be ultimately extinguished, sequentially. Furthermore, the Noble Eightfold Path refers to a systematic approach where good deeds are greatly emphasized in order for humans to live a happy life, and also serves as a path that could lead to spiritual awakening. Buddha says that if the Noble Eightfold Path were to be perfectly executed, one can achieve total liberation thus escaping the cycle of samsara, and attaining the peace of nirvana ( ‘’Buddhism’’ 75 ). Considering Siddhartha Gautama grew up under Hinduism teachings, the Buddhist religion had similarities in some of its aspects. An example of this would be the concept of reincarnation, where people undergo numerous rebirths until the goal is reached. One thing that fascinated me the most with Siddhartha Gautama’s stance is that he neglects the Hindu social codes on women having to only be able to attain their goal ( in Hinduism, salvation ) through personal devotion to their husbands. According to Gautama, women were as capable ( in Buddhism ) with reaching enlightenment like men and that gender does not play any factor in attaining nirvana. 

        One doctrine in Hinduism that can be compared and contrasted with the Buddhist doctrine, Buddha, is the concept of Brahman. In order to achieve an in-depth understanding with the similarities and differences of the two doctrines aforementioned, we begin by tackling the concept of reincarnation from both religions. ‘’The rishis explain that the bodily senses are made for looking outward; the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin are enticed by sensory pleasures. But ultimately this is fleeting, impermanent… What is real and lasting, they found, can be discovered only by turning away from transient worldly things’’ ( ‘’Hinduism’’ 42 ), from this excerpt we can say that like Buddhists, Hindus believe in impermanence. However, the two religions also differ in the scope of reincarnation --- why we have to undergo reincarnation, how do we cease to be part of it, and where does discontinuation of such activity lead us? Reincarnation in both religions delivers the idea of aging, death and then rebirth. In Hinduism, salvation can be achieved through constant rebirth until one reaches the top of the caste system, where they can devote their life to finding ways to become one with Brahman. It is believed that if one were at the bottom of the caste system, their chances of reaching salvation are highly unlikely, and that one has to move up in the caste system in order to become one with Brahman. On the other hand, Buddhists believe that enlightenment can be reached by anyone regardless of their social class. One does not need to be part of the cycle of samsara until they reach the top of the caste system, but rather the chances of each individual in attaining nirvana is equal. Once enlightenment is reached, ‘’one enters a state that the Buddha called ‘quietude of the heart,’ ‘a state beyond grasping, beyond aging and dying,’ ‘the unborn, . . .undying, . . .unsorrowing, . . .stainless, the uttermost security from bonds’ ‘’ ( ‘’Buddhism’’ 77 ). The ultimate goal of Hinduism is to attain salvation and become one with Brahman, because Brahman is the ‘’. . .unseen but all-pervading reality. . .the unknowable. . .’’ while in Buddhism, achieving that desired state of mind, nirvana, is the ultimate goal and Buddha is not considered to be an ‘’all-pervading reality.’’ Hindus believe that everything in this world, all with the life and the lifeless beings, can be traced back to Brahman, and on the contrary, Buddha is considered to be once a man lost in this world, who happens to be the first to ever reach enlightenment, and later on started the Buddhist religion in order to aid people in reaching total liberation.  

        Buddhism is a religion where there is no God appointed to the people, or have some kind of role for those who practice the religion, thus it is often referred to as a nontheistic. ‘’Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was not God or a god. He was a human being who attained full Enlightenment through meditation and showed us the path of spiritual awakening and freedom. Therefore, Buddhism is not a religion of God. Buddhism is a religion of wisdom, enlightenment and compassion. . .’’ ( ‘’Buddhism’’ 73). From this excerpt, we can deduce that buddhists do not focus much on life after death or the beginning of life, but rather they are concerned with extinguishing such ideas, with all the worries it has to offer and all attachments in relation to the world. Buddhists focus on achieving a particular state of mind; a spiritual awakening that can only be achieved by detaching one’s self with every bit of desire that lingers in every corner of that person’s body, heart and mind. In a PBS documentary entitled, ‘’The Buddha’’ narrated by Richard Gere, he mentioned that ‘’. . .he ( Mara ) sent his three daughters to seduce him. Siddhartha remained still. . .Siddhartha resisted every temptation Mara could devise. . .’’ this emphasizes the idea of Buddhism having to rid of one’s desires and temptations from the world so as the tranquility of nirvana can be attained, and this is the goal of Buddhism. The goal of religion varies from one ( religion ) to another, in which each has its own basis and purpose. For buddhists, the goal of reaching the state of nirvana corresponds to the goal of the religion, Buddhism, itself. 

        As a final point, the sculpture of the ‘’Buddha Shakyamuni’’ has not failed to intrigue me even though I have come to terms with the mysteries it has that I have previously questioned. This particular Buddha Shakyamuni artwork represents almost every bit of idea there is in the buddhist religion --- the concepts of wisdom, compassion and enlightenment, which is the center of Buddhism. The Rubin Museum Art Project has helped me to have an in-depth understanding of two of the major eastern religions: Buddhism and Hinduism, as it served to be the fuel to my motor of curiosity. It had given me an incentive to attune to my questions, ‘’What is Buddhism and its sole purpose? What aspects of it was derived from Hinduism?’’ which I have answered above. Also, it made me thoroughly explore Buddhism and Hinduism, as it required me to state its similarities and differences, and explain why such is so, with reliable sources. Moreover, growing up in a catholic-driven country ( Philippines), I used to believe that all of the religions in the world, including Buddhism and Hinduism, were monotheistic and were driven by an appointed God and his attributes. Fortunately enough, I was able to migrate here in the United States for about a little over three years ago, and now I have come to participate in this course, the Philosophy of Religion, and clear up the greatly mistaken notions I had with religions, most especially with Buddhism and Hinduism. Some of the many things I have learned with participating in this course, is that one should not conclude about having the correct idea of a religion and spread that idea, when one knows that he or she has very limited knowledge, much less exposure with that particular religion. People who are authorized to preach and spread the word of God (in the christian context) in countries like the Philippines, should not disregard or mislead the people when they ask questions in relevance to other religions such as ‘’What is Buddhism and Hinduism, and how are they different with Catholicism?’’ Without doubt, my participation in the Philosophy of Religion course and of the Rubin Museum Art Project has made me become a much better person for the society, in which it has changed my perspective on a lot of things, such as respecting the ideology of other religions and their practices, and to think critically with informations that are relayed from one person to another, without any reliable source or concrete evidence. Earnestly, I look forward to improve myself as an individual through learning the different aspects of various religions and to become a good influence to the society. 

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