Rubin Museum

Rolando Valdes
Dr. Dana Trusso
HUP 105
April 19, 2017
Rubin Museum of Art

In the Rubin Museum the art piece that I found to be most attractive was Mahakala. This is my favorite art piece because it's the god of death who is worship by the Hindus as well as the Buddhist. The image itself is very detailed and stands out to me. Mahakala has different forms with even one being a white Mahakala however the one I am mentioning is black. The Mahakala I'm speaking about is shown as a Buddhist God with five other buddhas shown over him. To me this is a sign of the utmost respect because he is honored by both Hindus and Buddhist. The artwork looks very scary and powerful at the same time. From the God having four arms and standing over a man that seems to be broken in half pleading for life shows its strength. Mahakala also has a third eye which to my knowledge let's want to see true intentions or symbolically meaning they see beyond what is right in front of them. If standing right in front of this God I would be in fear because of all the power he seems to display of strength and knowledge is beyond my comprehension.
Mahakala is the great protector. With all of his great power and being able to see his true colors of one he is able to defend Dharma from corruption and degeneration. He is able to help the practitioners keep focus so they do not lose their way. Before one is able to enter the gates of the heavens they must meet with Mahaklala who stands before the sinners. So if one was to try and enter the heavens with the idea of being deceptive, hostile, or impure thoughts they would have to face the wrath of Mahakala the God of death, www.thranguhk.org/buddhism/en_mahakala.html.    Mahaklala look for good qualities of wisdom to increase life of those who were of purity. His weapons of choice seems to be a staff which had three human heads on the upper end. The representation for that was the three roots of evil greed, ill will, and delusion. The flaming sword in the other hand was to strike ignorance from entering the heavens. Mahakala protects with keeping out all the ignorance so everyone in Dharma reach enlightenment within their physical form. 
The major philosophical doctrine that is illuminated within the Buddhism  of the Mahakala is the Dharma. The reason dharma is the best fit for Mahakala is because he is the protector. It is the place where wisdom is harvest and there's a certain enlightenment that is achieved. He keeps out all those who wish to deceive or bring evil into the heavens. “Buddhism is the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called Dharma, which means 'protection," www.kadampanewyork.org/about/about-buddhism-new-york?gclid=CI_zy-bxtNMCFUhXDQodXakAIw. Dharma is the sanctuary where practitioners are able to be in harmony with oneself. It is “both the essential nature of reality and also the teachings and practices that enable realization and the essential nature," www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-buddha-dharma-449710. The artwork I chose as a representation of Dharma is because he make sure only the worthy, enlighten, non-sinners gets passed his gate to the heavens. Everything that Mahakala stands for is protecting and seeing beyond the physical appearance of one. With his fearful appearance in being black and strengths to come along with it, the third eye to see beyond the truth only those who are righteous will be able to pass.
The Buddhist doctrine dharma has some similarities and differences with the Hinduism doctrine moksha. Some of the similarities between moksha and dharma are essentially they are both trying to guide and give teachings for an overall better life. To equip all persons of reaching enlightenment. Both of these doctrine areas have steps in order for one to reach its ultimate goal. But once this goal is reached it is Believe that one will be in true peace and free from all suffering. This is the path one will take so they will know what the ultimate happiness truly is. Also in order for a person to reach moksha they must live the life as dharma.
Dharma and moksha differ in the sense of what is trying to be achieve. Dharma is the teachings or the religion of the Buddha. Dharma is a sense of a person's duty to act according to their responsibilities alternately permanent universal truth to say. So the meditations of Buddha was trying to realize the true meaning of dharma. In buddha teachings once a person gains superior individual realization they get to achieve dharma versus relying on traditional beliefs. Moksha is freedom from ignorance or in other words from samsara.  Its all about liberation from the rebirth cycle so that person can go back home. When ultimate enlightenment is achieve in moksha that person will have unity with the supreme being. They have reached the end of death and the rebirth cycle. 
Buddhism is a religion because it’s a faith people Believe is the right of passage. It is talk by the Buddha who is said to have reach the highest enlightenment. In his teachings one will discover the state of wisdom, pure thoughts, and no longer be ignorant. Buddha himself comes from the Hindu family, which can explain some of the similarities and concepts within the religion. It is not so much of the matter that Buddha is a God but rather one who is reached enlightenment. It's all about the teachings and steps of the Buddha religion. So he is a man that millions chose to follow till this day because he has reached the pinnacle of wisdom and happiness without suffering and ignorance.

During this experience I have learned many things about religion. The things that I have Learned made me realize that the things I believe then before even knowing about Hinduism and Buddhism is that others believe in this way of life. Moksha is a whole new world for me because I never knew it existed.  The thought of a supreme being is something I have always believed in without any awareness of this religion having a name for. I learned that Buddhism is only called that because it is rooted from one Buddha person. Buddhist teachings brought hope to millions of people to be a better them. To say that I help me understand the nature of religion and the different way would it be true Bradley gave me an insight of the religion itself. For that I am grateful because now I know a few things about the religion itself. I also find myself to believe in some of the methods and teachings of both religions. 2

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Quito's Rubin Museum Project

Image
Alex Quito Professor Trusso   HUP 105 April 19, 2017 Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara Buddhism, A Unique World Religion Upon visiting the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, I was intrigued by all the Hindu and Buddhist artwork in display. There was one Buddhist artwork that especially grabbed my attention and became the center of my focus in this paper. This specific Buddhist artwork was a painting named the “Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara,” which dates back to Central Tibet during the 20th century. There were several details that made this specific art piece so attracting and through my own observations, I was able to connect the painting to a Buddhist doctrine. Further interest in the artwork then led me to conduct more detailed research. All in all, the “Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara” represented an important Buddhist doctrine very different to that of a Hindu doctrine and led us to ask even bigger questions of Buddhism.       ...
Read more

Hadir Harfoush

Image
Hadir Harfoush. HUP105. Project The Rubin museum. #1 Title/artist: Buddha Shakyamuni – Buddha. Date: 16 th century. Doctrine: Buddha. According to the art work I saw in the museum it seems to me that the doctrine is Buddha, because the literature beneath the art work explains what does Buddha means which means “a wakened or enlightened”. And also it talks about the history of “Shakyamuni” who was the first Buddha. #2 Title/artist: the wheel of life – Instructive Pantings. Date: 18 th century. Doctrine: Samsara. According to the art work I saw in the museum, this art illustrates the cyclic of life, death and rebirth. In Buddhism this doctrine is called Samsara. #3 Title/artist: Buddha Sitatapatra – Merit. Date: 1864 Doctrine: Karma. According to the art work at the museum Sitatapatra symbolizes someone who is striving for a better rebirth by watching over those in need with her ten million eyes. It also shows that she has had many of her o...
Read more