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Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya - (Buddha of the Future)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara),
Ca. 3r century
Introduction
The significance of the term bodhisattva lies in the way it is used to designate Buddha-to-be. A bodhisattva is destined to become a Buddha as he progresses towards awakening because of his self- motivation and unique qualities. Buddha Gautama refers to his bodhisattva’ in his pre-awakening experiences and how he overcame fears during bodhisattva’s struggles. Bodhisattva gradually develops a clear division between unwholesome thoughts and wholesome thoughts. On considering these formulations, it is safe to assume that the idea of Bodhisattva had not yet arisen as he knew that this was going to be his last birth (Analayo, 2010). According to Buddha, an aspiring bodhisattva can ensure his future success.
Nearly every collection of Gandhara sculpture has statues that are dressed, jeweled and turbaned like a prince and those figures were known as “Bodhisattva.” These figures are also referred to as Siddhartha or Mireya (Rowland, B., 1961). It is the stylist character of those images that justified their being described as Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened ones who help all beings. The essay examines Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya and looks at the cultural, historical, or social aspects of the work of art. The purpose is to look at how its meaning was used in its original culture.Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya
This bodhisattva can be traced back to ca. 3rd century and relates to the ancient region of Gandhara. Made of Gray schist, the statue is on display in The Met Museum, Gallery 235 (Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2016). The style of the sculpture comes from the region of Gandhara. The schist stone shows detailed carved lines on the drapery, jewelry, and hairdo. The sculpture is evocative of Hellenistic style that paid more naturalistic attention to the details. The bodhisattva figure is carved realistically and attention paid to the body proportions. The figure is in standing position and seems to have a royal presence. One is curious about the identity of a bodhisattva, with his wave curls hair tied at the top in the chignon and elaborate dress. The style is identified with Maitreya bodhisattva, where the hair is decorated with jewels and the most notable feature is holding a vessel in the left hand (Rhi, 2007). The Bodhisattvas images are characterized by their hairstyle, attributes, and ornaments. The Bodhisattvas are always wearing earrings, bracelets, armlets, holy thread, an amulet carrier and two kinds of necklaces (Miyaji, 2008). While there are no particular rules regarding the ornaments, the hairstyle and mudras of Bodhisattvas are strongly linked to their identity. The figure of Bodhisattva Maitreya here carries a small flask in his left hand, which is filled with a liquid of immortality. The donor figures revere a Buddhist reliquary resting on a low throne under a canopy. The uttarīya is worn over both arms in the wide mode and hang from under the shoulder loop by the left side. The drapery folds get terraced over the broader surfaces and get ridged sharply where the cloth gets dense. The folds hang down and almost touch his ankles. The feet are well marked, and show weaved sandal on the feet. The narrow face against a halo carries a serene look and a calm expression. The eyes gaze in front under arched eyebrows. There are a rounded chin and well-shaped lips that support a curling mustache. The nose becomes almost a ridge under the temples.
The loop topknot is a hair do that was common to Maitreya images. The undulating hair from a peak on both sides, and are thicker and curlier at the temples and the ears. They fall in abundance over the shoulders. The twin loop is done neatly and the hair frame the face in wavy curls. The figure is shown wearing earrings, a necklace, and bracelet. The earrings carry small winged lion with beads falling from head and paws. The two bead necklaces of multiple strands pass over the right shoulder. The multiple-chain necklace shows vestigial beads and is damaged Maitreya figures were a favorite theme of Gandhara relief and were identified based on certain attributes. He holds a kalaśa in the left hand while performs abhayamudrā with his right hand (Jawad, 2008).The cultural, historical, or social aspects Bodhisattvas images from the Gandhara regions have been identified as Maitreya representations. Based on the criteria set for the Maitreya images, several types of Bodhisattvas have been identified. Some are seated while others are standing. The standing images of Maitreya holding the vase and displaying abhayamudra with the right hand are the most predominant. There is a fair variation in the theme in the figures occurring during the third century with the right hand showing namaskaramudra (Huntington, n.d.).
Centuries after the founding of Buddhism in Asia, Buddhist art flourished and many valuable artworks of the artistic trend have been unearthed. The development of Early Buddhism facilitated the artistic Buddhist images such as Maitreya. Gandhara and Mathura civilizations from Northern India and surrounding regions were influenced by the Buddhist art. The Maitreya image appears in important Buddhist centers during the era (Huntington, n.d.).
The sculpture comes from the Gandhara region. The schist stone allows for intricate carving, particularly in the deeply carved lines of the drapery, the hairstyle, and jewelry. Gandharan sculpture is suggestive of Hellenistic sculptures in the naturalistic attention to anatomical details. The centaurs that hold the central amulet on the main necklace carry mythological figures that are the half-human and half horse. The bodhisattva figures wear elaborate dress, hairstyle and ornaments and are in their youth. Enveloped in heavy costumes, they spread an aura of royalty and attired richly.
The compassionate figure of Bodhisattva
The Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya is not a representation of any historical figure such as Buddha. They are empathetic figures who are not saints or historical, but simply help other worshipers and people on the path of salvation. Bodhisattva is the symbol of compassion for those seeking enlightenment and spreading the Buddha’s teachings. The term bodhisattva in early Buddhism was used to identify Siddharta Gautama before he became the enlightened or a Buddha. Two kinds of Boddhissattvas are discussed in the Mahayana, the Earthly, and the Transcendental as stated by Jawad, (2008). The celestial Bodhisattvas are depicted in Gandhara art iconographically, in the celestial bodhisattvas adorned with finery. Bodhisattvas are shown to be more luxuriantly attired as compared to the Buddhas, who have a simple robe covered over one shoulder. Bodhisattvas are shown decorated with flowing heavy robes, elaborate hairdos, wearing necklaces and threads that contain amulet and bracelets. They are shown to be like a princely figure and sometimes wear a mustache. Maitreya Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings and are compassionate figures to help others on help others on the path of salvation. Maitreya is the Buddha of the future, and as per the Mahayana teachings, Buddha is born as a bodhisattva first in many lives till he attains Buddhahood. The historical Buddha was a bodhisattva before becoming the Buddha. Philosophically speaking, the concept of the bodhisattva emerged with the possibility of everyone attaining Buddhahood. The compassionate figures of Buddha Maitreya worked on behalf of the worshipers’ and helped them to progress on their path and achieve their spiritual goals. Buddha has been bodhisattvas himself before he attained enlightenment. There is great admiration of bodhisattvas as he is someone who is compassionately engaged in good work and undertakes more difficult tasks to achieve the higher status of bodhisattvahood and to get closer to Buddhahood. Thus, Buddha and bodhisattva are not contradictory but complementary to each other as stated by Narain (1985). Thus, one can conclude that Mireya is a dominant idol of Buddhism, and plays an important role in Buddhism. Its sources can be traced back to Buddhist doctrines with limited text but the presence of enormous and intelligible images of Maitreya make it easier to understand them and the doctrine. Buddhism relied on those Maitreya images in Buddhist fine arts for its dissemination and spread.
The Buddha Maitreya Several Gandharan reliefs show strange iconographic compositions that reflect the images of Buddha or Bodhisattva and the narrative reliefs. Those reliefs are categorized as a seated Buddha surrounded by Bodhisattvas and worshippers and Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas. Those sculptures and reliefs show some common iconographic elements and the way the figures are dressed (Miyaji, 2008). There are several textual references to Buddha Maitreya and in the history of Buddhism, the future Buddha Maitreya becomes a source of religious inspiration. Maitreya seems to have exerted considerable influence on several Buddhist scholars. After all, Maitreya fulfilled multiple functions throughout Buddhist history.
The unique thing about Buddhism is that Buddha alone is supreme and carries unique attributes. He is not the arahant and neither the bodhisattva. However, only bodhisattvas can become Buddhas on enlightenment. Before enlightenment, Buddhas are called bodhisattvas. There would be innumerable bodhisattvas in the future and, anyone can become a bodhisattva if he is determined ton the path of salvation. Bodhisattva must begin his progress towards the perfections of a Buddha by getting rid of imperfections (Narain, 1985).The entire life of a bodhisattva is controlled by wisdom and compassion.
Buddhist iconography
During the formative period of Buddhist iconography that ran from 480 B.C. to fifth century A.D. didn’t follow any set rules and particular manifestations developed in a rather loose way. There is no comprehensive text or literature for the Buddhist images prior the fifth century. Despite the textual gap, there are thousands of images form the early periods that belong to the period c.100 B.C. and through the fifth century (Huntington, n.d.). It must be noted that those images were like physically attested documents of the history of Buddhist ideas and the communication process of Buddhism. In Buddhism work of art was looked upon as means of communication and the images were looked upon as texts.
One finds a considerable variation in the jewelry worn by the Bodhisattvas and the way the hair is arranged. A common type is a central knot on the top of the head and two loops of hair to the right and left. Another variant is the chignon or bun type knot on the top of the head. It is interesting to note here that such hair nets have bene found in the Late Greek and Hellenistic burial. Now that Maitreya is shown wearing it in the second and third centuries, shows the sculptors designing their imagery based on Hellenistic cults (Huntington, n.d.). Occasionally, there are Maitreya wearing turbans. Except for the turban and hairdos, the imagery for Maitreya Bodhisattvas remained fairly consistent over the six centuries. The uniformity in the images allows one to speculate that the typology for such figures was established.
The figure of Maitreya from the Peshawar region shows the broken vase but, there is a small fragment still attached to the garment. On the pedestal below, there is a small figure showing the Maitreya meditating and his abhayamudra identifies him. There is a conflict here as to why two different types of Maitreya's are shown on the same piece. It may be suggested that the Standing Maitreya with his abhayamudra is the welcoming Bodhisattvas, while the seated figure is an earthly representation of Maitreya of the culture. Irrespective of the exact explanation of the two manifestations, there is no doubt that the two figures are Maitreya's (Huntington, n.d.). The image of the standing Maitreya with the worshipping vase on the pedestal shows the promise of welcoming the meritorious and promising him the future rebirth into paradise, and a demonstration of the necessary actions of worship of Maitreya.
If one looks at the two loops hairdo, this is specific to the images of God Brahma in Gandharan scripture. Brahma- faring is the path to further Buddhist attainment which is referred to as becoming Brahma. Thus, the different appearances of Maitreya and the various interpretations of hair arrangements point to the time where he perfected his wisdom to become fully enlightened. This suggested that while the Maitreya in turban is in the process of attaining enlightenment, the two loops or bun hairstyle are worn after enlightenment (Huntington, n.d.).
Based on the above discussion and observations, Maitreya images feature a combination of folk beliefs and indigenous religions. The main characteristics of Maitreya include coil of hair, decorative elements such as necklace, bracelet, earrings, a halo behind, a vessel of water in left hand and a seated positons with crossed legs. The bodhisattva figure is carved realistically. It may not have perfect proportions, but the Buddhist art played an efficient role in spreading the faith in Asia and beyond.
Within the persuasive range of Buddhism, the cult of Maitreya must have appeared after the establishment of Buddhism. The purpose was to meet the spiritual demand of Buddhists and develop a religious image. The indigenous religions and beliefs have influenced the characteristics of the artistic image that carries many folk characteristics. Those images have developed gradually and promoted a cultural phenomenon and established an artistic symbol that held great significance in Buddhism and Buddhist art.
Conclusion
Maitreya cult emerged because of the spiritual need for the people and the differences in origin of beliefs and religions have influenced the art and sculpture. Because of the thousands of centuries of existence and evolution, Buddhism has contributed significantly to the culture, society and artworks. The diverse representations of the Maitreya add to the difficulty in evaluating them and, their meanings are often debated among the historic scholars. In Buddhist traditions, Maitreya is the only heavenly Bodhisattva, and, his images appear in Gandhara. He is represented seated or standing, head tied on his head, and his hand in a certain mudra when standing. Bodhisattva is usually shown standing and adorned with jewels and, his attributes may vary.
Scholars believe that the generic notion of a bodhisattva is to reach awakening and pursue the path to Buddhahood. Needless to say, the artistic image of Maitreya is one of the most popular images in Asian Buddhist and has exerted great impact on Asian art. There is no denying that the image of Maitreya occupies a major role and position in Buddhism and Asiatic art. The artistic image is not just a symbol of faith but was an inspiration for the artists. The image of Maitreya as the Saviour of Buddhism and Future Buddha has become a symbol of peace that is desired by the mankind. Those images of Bodhisattva were shaped under the stout influence of the religious and social ideas. The bodhisattva figure encourages enlightenment and descends to earth to reinforce the teachings of Buddha and motivate one to attain salvation and become Buddha. He is deemed as a leader and strives for justice, peace and freedom until Buddhahood is attained. Those images and iconography spread faith and strive towards better future, offering one strength and motivation, to reach the higher goals of life.
References
Analayo. (2010). The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal. Hamburg University Press, 1(1), 1–173. Huntington, J.C. (n.d.). Iconography and iconology of Maitreya images in Gandahra. The Ohio State univrsity, 1(1), 133–178.
Jawad, A. (2008). Maitreya of Gandhara-An Anticipated Sanguine of Buddhism. Ancient Pakistan, 19, 43.
Miyaji, A. (2008). Iconography of the two flanking bodhisattvas in the buddhist triads from gandhāra: Bodhisattvas siddhārtha, maitreya and avalokiteśvara. East and West, 58(1/4), 123- 156.
Narain, A.K. (1985). The Journal Of The International Association Of Buddhist Studies. University of Wisconsin, 1(1), 1–187.
Rhi, J. (2007). a colossal bodhisattva head in the peshawar museum. Ancient Pakistan, 18
Rowland, B. (1961). Bodhisattvas or Deified Kings: A Note on Gandhara Sculpture. Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, 15, 6–12. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20067027
Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future) (2016). metmuseum Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38474
