Sacred Arts of Tibet (.pdf) - Asian Art Museum | Education

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Slide 7 Sacred Arts of Tibet Monks Reading Buddhist Texts Photo from Tomasevic, Nebojsa, ed. Tibet. New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1981.): p. 182. These monks are seated in the library of their monastery reading Buddhist texts, that are similar to the one in Slide 8. They are surrounded by hundreds of books. The pages of traditional Tibetan books are not bound, but consist of loose sheets wrapped in decorative and protective cloth when not in use. The Tibetan alphabet is modelled after an ancient Sanskritic script from India. It consists of five vowels and thirty consonants. The Tibetan language is of the Tibeto-Burmese language group and is unrelated to any Indian or Chinese language. What is written in these books? The Buddhist canon (the ancient collection of sacred writings commonly accepted as authentic) contains three divisions or “baskets” (Tripitaka). These are the laws and ethical teachings (Vinaya), the dialogues of the Buddha (Sutra), and the technical teachings on philosophy, cosmology, epistemology and psychology (Abhidharma). Included in these scriptures are life stories of the Buddha’s in many lives before his enlightenment, the life stories of bodhisattvas and other holy persons. There are texts on meditation, healing, ritual, philosophy and the many arts and sciences of Buddhism. Sutra is the word used for Buddhist scriptures that present extended teachings and dialogues given by the Buddha to his disciples. The word derives from the Sanskrit term meaning “thread.” The English word suture, for the stitching used by doc- 40 Asian Art Museum
Sacred Arts of Tibet tors, derives from this same word. The three “baskets” of teaching were translated in whole or in part into the languages of the different places where Buddhism took root. These include various Indian languages, both Sanskritic and non-Sanskritic, Tibetan, Nepalese, and languages of Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, etc. Over the last hundred and fifty years, many of the more famous scriptures have been translated into English, as well as into French, Russian, German and other European languages. One of the reasons why Tibet is so important for students of Buddhism is that only the Tibetan language preserves nearly the entire body of the Buddhist canon. There are some 7436 volumes of scriptures in the Tibetan canon. Only around 1100 were ever translated into Chinese, and many less were translated into any other language. The original Sanskrit texts of most of the Buddhist canon were destroyed by the Moslems during their invasion and occupation of India from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Who wrote them? The one hundred and eight volumes of the Tripitaka, the three “baskets” of the Buddhas own teaching, were written down by the disciples of the Buddha. In the centuries that followed, several thousand volumes of commentary on these texts were written by the great bodhisattva teachers of India and Tibet. These commentaries were primarily by monks, but also include nuns and lay persons. What benefit is there to gained by reading them? Buddhist texts, along with relics, and icons are the primary objects of Buddhist devotion. In other religious traditions, the book is also of paramount importance—Judaism has the Torah, Christianity the Bible, Islam the Koran, Sikhism the Guru Granth. One can gain merit and spiritual insight though reading texts, copying them, and translating them. Through the Buddha’s teaching and all the thousands of texts written in subsequent years, one can learn the path to become a Buddha, to overcome all misery, and to bring salvation to all beings. Buddhism has greatly contributed to the literary traditions of the world. In many cultures, the importance of being able to read texts to gain spiritual merit has raised literacy rates and encouraged the translation of texts from different languages. Thus Buddhism was a globalizing force long before the Internet united the people of the world. Many would argue that with the international popularity of teachers like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhism continues to bridge different communities across the world. The Dalai Lama, a consummate scholar of Buddhism, has and continues to write commentaries on the Buddhist canon to inform and inspire modern students of Buddhism. Discussion Points/Teaching Suggestions 1) Discussion: the Power of the Book Discuss the power and importance of the book and writing indifferent cultures. In Buddhist countries Buddhist texts are very important. What are the important texts in American society today, and 200 years ago? What are literacy rates of the countries you have studied? What is the relationship between literacy and one’s standard of living? What are some strategies for increasing literacy rates? 2) Listening Activity: Traditional Chanting and New Sounds Sutras are often chanted by monks as part of meditation or rituals. Play tapes of traditional Tibetan 41 Asian Art Museum
Page 1 and 2: Sacred Arts of Tibet Art from the R
Page 3 and 4: Background Reading Sacred Arts of T
Page 5 and 6: Sacred Arts of Tibet of mountain ra
Page 7 and 8: Sacred Arts of Tibet In the nomad
Page 9 and 10: RELIGIOUS PRACTICE IN TIBET Sacred
Page 11 and 12: Sacred Arts of Tibet beset by a var
Page 13 and 14: Tara and Green Tara (see Slide 2).
Page 15 and 16: Religious Rule: The “Second Trans
Page 17 and 18: Sacred Arts of Tibet of Tibetan nat
Page 19 and 20: Slide Descriptions Sacred Arts of T
Page 21 and 22: Who was Shakyamuni Buddha? Sacred A
Page 23 and 24: 2) Discussion Topic: To restore or
Page 25 and 26: What is a bodhisattva? Sacred Arts
Page 27 and 28: Who are the Green and White Taras?
Page 29 and 30: Slide 3 Sacred Arts of Tibet The Po
Page 31 and 32: Sources Sacred Arts of Tibet Gyatso
Page 33 and 34: Buddha Vajradhara (middle), the Ind
Page 35 and 36: Slide 5 Sacred Arts of Tibet This p
Page 37 and 38: Sacred Arts of Tibet Discussion Poi
Page 39: Sacred Arts of Tibet Buddhahood, su
Page 43 and 44: Slide 8 Sacred Arts of Tibet Buddhi
Page 45 and 46: Sacred Arts of Tibet Top: The Tibet
Page 47 and 48: What is a lama? Sacred Arts of Tibe
Page 49 and 50: What is the symbolism of the Vajra
Page 51 and 52: Slide 11 Sacred Arts of Tibet Praye
Page 53 and 54: Slide 12 Sacred Arts of Tibet Novic
Page 55 and 56: Slide 13 Sacred Arts of Tibet Torga
Page 57 and 58: Slide 14 Sacred Arts of Tibet Palde
Page 59 and 60: Slide 15 Sacred Arts of Tibet Saman
Page 61 and 62: Slide 16 Sacred Arts of Tibet Human
Page 63 and 64: Slide 17 Sacred Arts of Tibet Mahak
Page 65 and 66: Slide 18 Sacred Arts of Tibet Lion-
Page 67 and 68: Slide 19 Sacred Arts of Tibet Praye
Page 69 and 70: Slide 20 Sacred Arts of Tibet Bön
Page 71 and 72: Reading 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet The
Page 73 and 74: Reading 2 Sacred Arts of Tibet Visi
Page 75 and 76: Sacred Arts of Tibet The outside of
Page 77 and 78: Sacred Arts of Tibet 5. The most co
Page 79 and 80: Reading 6 Sacred Arts of Tibet The
Page 81 and 82: Sacred Arts of Tibet provisions of
Page 83 and 84: Activity 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet Dec
Page 85 and 86: Bibliography Sacred Arts of Tibet B
Page 87 and 88: Sacred Arts of Tibet Reynolds, Valr
Page 89 and 90: Appendix 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet Pos

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