Leidy Polonia's Rubin Museum project.

Leidy Polonia

April 2017

HUP 105

Dr Trusso

      Rubin Museum

There is one thing that has been controversial over the course of many decades, religion. Religion is a subject mostly left to interpretation. Everyone sees it, practices it and interprets it differently. Some may not agree with the teachings and message of another religion. Buddhism has been a subject to this controversy. What distinguishes Buddhism from other religions is its  lack of prayer to a God. In Buddhism it is critical to find yourself and understand that being imperfect and suffering are a quality of life, it’s not give or take. The Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, Samsara, Dukkha and Karma are among a few of the many important doctrines of  Buddhism.

It was one of the last paintings I encountered, in the fourth floor but it unquestionably captivated my attention. It was like love at first sight. The first thing that attracted me was the red demon character that is seen holding the wheel by the jaws, hands and feet, Yama. Yama is the “the judge of the dead, who turns the wheel.  Yama represents the ignorance that comes from greed and "selfhood," that keeps the wheel of suffering turning.” (Bhavacakra Wheel of Becoming/ Wheel of Life). He has a crown of skulls with candles on top, which represent death. There are a couple of things I believe the inner circle could represent. The dark side of the inner circle could represent death in the cycle of samsara. Another thing that dark side could represent is the suffering a person has to endure in order to reach the light side of nirvana, or enlightenment. The third thing that I believe the dark circle could represent is the bad course of karma and a person ending up in hell for their bad karma. Another thing that attracted me to this painting were the colors, the red and yellows and greens. In tibetan paintings they have attention to detail and do not fail to include every detail in a painting. That is what mainly draws me to their paintings. The wheel of life was a painting gifted to the Rubin Museum by Shelly and Donald Rubin. It was created in 19th century Tibet. The wheel of life represents the doctrine of Samsara, the wheel of birth and death. Samsara “operates primarily because of the three root afflictions: greed, hate, and delusion.” (course reader 76).  In order to leave the wheel you need to practice the opposite of the three afflictions, “generosity, non-hate (friendliness, compassion and patience) and non-delusion (mental clarity and insight)” (Course reader 76). According to chapter 4 on Buddhism, “there are 31 planes of existence… these include hell beings, hungry ghosts (beings tormented with unsatisfied desires), animals, humans, and gods” (Page 76). These planes of existence are depicted in the painting as well. You can see the Gods at the top of the wheel, the animals at the bottom left, humans at the top right, ghosts at the bottom right and hell in the bottom of the painting. Lastly, within the smaller circle there are three animals, a snake, a rooster and a pig. In the explanation by the Rubin museum of the painting, they state that they are meant to represent the three origins of suffering. The pig represents ignorance, the rooster represents attachment and lastly the snake represents anger.

Ever since learning about Buddhism, I have undoubtedly been attracted to the religion and what it stands for. It is not a religion that focuses on following a certain lifestyle and rules, you have to take your own steps to get there but you do have to take guidance from the Dharma. The Dharma is the “core of teachings in which Siddhartha Gautama teaches the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path, the three marks of existence, and other guidelines for achieving liberation from suffering.” (course reader 72). The four noble truths are the foundation in the teachings and they simply state that suffering, Dukkha, is an inevitable part of life. The only way to end the suffering is to understand that “suffering originates in our desires and suffering will cease if all desires cease” (course reader 74). Another thing that I love about the painting is that it does not only bring attention to the doctrine of samsara, it also brings attention to Karma which is another doctrine. Karma is the “central cause in the wheel of birth and death.. It is a phenomenon which acts as the cause that sets another into motion.. Our actions, of body, speech and mind.. The impressions of our virtuous and non-virtuous actions shape our experience moment-by-moment. When we die, this process continues, passing on the flame to a new life in a realm of existence that reflects our past karma.” (Course reader 76). In other words our actions in our past life have an impact in our next life, if we behave good we will have a good next life, if we behave bad we will have a bad next life, good karma vs bad karma.

Both Buddhism and Hinduism believe in the doctrine of the endless cycle of birth and death, samsara. But while Hinduism believes in a soul, Atman, Buddhism does not believe in a soul, Anatman. According to Buddhism and Hinduism compared:

“The doctrine of rebirth as understood in Hinduism involves a permanent soul, a conscious entity which transmigrates from one body to another. The soul inhabits a given body and at death, the soul casts that body off and goes on to assume another body… In the same way the soul remains the same but the psycho-physical organism it takes up differs from life to life… Buddhism sees rebirth not as the transmigration of a conscious entity but as the repeated occurrence of the process of existence. There is a continuity, a transmission of influence, a causal connection between one life and another. But there is no soul, no permanent entity which transmigrates from one life to another.”

In other words in Hinduism believes that your soul travels with you during samsara, in all the lives you live you have the same soul but in buddhism there is no believe in a soul, as a result they only believe in the process of existence.

Is Buddhism a religion? One of the most essential questions asked. But to answer that question we must first decipher what religion is. If you were to ask a group of 100 people what religion was you’d get a variety of answers. But in reality religion is not something that can be defined. Many believe that in order to be religious or have a religion there must be a God but “Buddhism is often described as a nontheistic religion. There is no personal God who creates the world or to whom prayers can be directed” (Course reader 73) The Buddha is not their God he is more of someone who they look up to and someone who they believe in inside of all buddhist. “ Buddhism is not a religion of God. Buddhism is a religion of wisdom, enlightenment and compassion… Buddhist believe that salvation and enlightenment are available to all through removal of defilements and delusion and a life of meditation.” (Course reader 73)   I believe that Buddhism is a religion because it is a practice. It implements many things that a religion should have. They have a core of teachings, Dharma, and they also seek to achieve liberation, in this case from suffering. Buddhism has existed for thousands of years and has grown into a community and many people have practiced this religion around the world, that's what a religion should achieve. A religion should make people feel secure, it should give people support and a community where they share similar beliefs and that is what Buddhism accomplishes. The fact that it accomplishes that without having to devote and pray to a God is pretty great and shows that the religion as a whole is magnificent and significant.

This experience helped me understand that religion is very complex. Many people have their own believes and definitions of what a religion should entail. But in reality religion is what an individual believes not what a mass of people tell you to believe. I learned that religion is a strong belief and that no God is necessary in order for a religion to truly be a religion. I was raised in a Catholic household where all my life I only experienced and knew about my own religion and now that I am older and can make my own assumptions and decisions about this topic it is very interesting to learn about a religion where there is no God.

                                                      

 Bibliography

"Wheel of Existence-early 20th century | Rubin Museum of Art." The Rubin. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Bhavacakra. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Www.beyondthenet.net -> LifeCycle -> Seek within... The Treasures unexplored... The Door to the Deathless... N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Course reader.