Buddhist and Hindu Religions

Buddhist and Hindu Religions

Hindu and Buddhist cultures are both rich in religion and expressing their faith through art. The Buddhist culture was formed by Buddha who went out to discover the causes of pain and suffering. Once Buddha realized what the cause was, he provided a set of four guiding principles know as the “Four Noble Truths” that are exercised in Buddhism (Kleiner, p. 451). The Four Noble truths are “Life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, one can overcome and extinguish desire, the way to conquer desire and end suffering is to follow Buddha’s Eightfold Path…” (p. 453). These truths are expressed in the following of Buddhism and commonly carried out through art. Buddhism is practiced throughout Southeast Asia and southern India where there is a strong presence of Buddhist artwork. This includes art in the form of statues, temples, paintings, and architecture.

The two dominant forms or art are the stupas and the chaitya halls that often house the stupas. The Stupa is a round burial mound that is essential to the Buddhist religion. The stupa itself is not a tomb for the dead, but a housing of Buddha. These means of burial came into existence when Buddha died and was cremated. His remains were then dispusred throughout the burial housing that solid and round. These stupas could not be entered. Stupas can come in many different sizes. There are handheld stupas, and there are giant structure stupas that represent a map of the universe. The most famous of the giant stupas is the Great Stupa of Sanchi. There are different parts of the structural stupas that represent different points in Buddhism. The main parts of the stopas are: the domes shape itself, toranas, the harmika, the yasti, the three chatras, and a stone fence. The stopas are configured strategically to represent the connection between the earth and the universe above. The stone fence surrounds the whole stopa to restrict the outside world from the sacred burial mound. The...