Buddhist traditions and images: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana
The history of Buddhism encompasses different traditions whose relationships cannot be described as a simple succession of three schools. Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana refer to traditions that require historical and doctrinal distinctions.
Theravada has an important presence in Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia. “Hinayana”, a term originating in polemical contexts, is not its equivalent and is not a neutral name for the early schools.
In Mahayana Buddhism, particular importance is given to the bodhisattva ideal: the pursuit of Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings. Images of Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri depict figures associated respectively with compassion and wisdom.
Vajrayana developed within the Mahayana framework and includes tantric practices in which images, mandalas and ritual implements have specific roles. Understanding representations, especially those with multiple arms or wrathful appearances, requires recognition of the relevant iconographic tradition. Their visual form acquires meaning through its relationship to texts, practices and contexts of use.
The gallery’s works illuminate these relationships through their identified subjects and documented contexts. The eleventh-century Pala Padmapani gives visible form to Avalokiteshvara’s central role; in the Nepalese Prajñāpāramitā cover, the connection between personified wisdom, Tara and sacred book offers a different programme. Multiple limbs and elaborate ornament participate in defining these forms, alongside the subject and the function of the support.
The fourteenth-century Tibetan Sakya lama introduces the transmission of teaching. The book on a lotus, monastic robes and the teacher’s gesture bring doctrine and lineage together within a religious portrait. These works allow deities, bodhisattvas and teachers to be distinguished: categories that coexist in Buddhist practice, each with its own identity and figurative history. Analysis gains precision when accompanied by knowledge of the texts and contexts guiding the use of images.
References and comparisons
