Essay on Art and Religion

The symbol at the top of the mandala is an army medal, which symbolizes one of Clary’s

In comparing The Tibetan Mandala and the Navajo Sand painting the sand drawings are from different cultures, yet their purpose is the same. A better understanding and appreciation comes with looking at these works.

Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to

In the article “Ritual and Presentation in Early Buddhist Religious Architecture” by Lars Fogelin, the readers are introduced to Buddhism and ritual which include the stupas. Stupas were build according to Buddha’s dying wish, his reason for doing so was “indented for the laity who, with their poorer grasp of Buddhism principles, required the aid of direct worship to ease them toward the path to enlightenment” (Forgelin, pg. 3). The argument that Forgelin brings up is that the designers had to accommodate the needs of Buddhist worshipers “while attempting to provide mechanisms to foster group cohesion”(Forgelin, pg.1), which is shown in the open-air and rock-cut stupas. Forgelin’s thesis stated he will address the main topic by first presenting Buddhist’s goal and how to attain this goal referred to as nirvana, then who are the three principal groups who practice their rituals at a stupid, and how the designers had to incorporate the different styles of practice into the design of the stupas.

Nicole utilizes a variety of themes and materials in her artworks. Her mandalas come to life on rough hemp canvases where the color gets absorbed by the thirsty texture. As the fibers need to be fed again and again, the mandala motifs arise shyly to the surface. The traditional method of making mandalas through the patient and repetitive movement of the hand dropping sand on a surface is mirrored in Nicole’s approach to constructing her mandalas, with an evident connection to meditation.

The temple contains the images of many bodhisattvas,Buddha's, and disciples. The images of the Buddha's and bodhisattvas are the focus of the rooms and outside. For example, in the main shrine and Bodhisattva hall, the focus are the images. Another example is the garden of the eighteen arhats in which the Buddha is surrounded by his first disciples. The other garden that is in the temple is the Vessel of Compassion for Universal Liberation. The main image in this garden is that of Avalofitesvara Bodhisattva. The other images depicted are of heaven kings. The bodhisattva is important because the vows of this Bodhisattva are of a compassionate mind and the power of wisdom. This bodhisattva answers the prayers of sentient beings no matter where they are and manifests in different forms. These eighteen arhats extinguished all defilements and afflictions. They had reached nirvana and their righteousness is exemplary to all Buddhists. Comparatively, symbols play an important role in buddhism and we can see this through the offers made to the Buddha's and bodhisattvas. For example, incense symbolizes inner peace, a lamp offering symbolizes the brightening of our vision and the enhancement of our wisdom. In addition, in the images, mudras or certain objects are a symbol of important rules to follow. Such as in image of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the elephant symbolizes practice. The sounds that are used are that of instruments during the service in the main shrine and the sound of bells which usually mark the initiation of a service or other announcements. Furthermore, the smells that are used throughout the temple are incense. Incense is used as an offering and it is meant to help the Buddhist concentrate and focus on meditating. Lastly, taste is used in the ritual of eating vegetarian meals

The mandala provides a religious experience through visualization and are often employed to dissociate a human from their ego and the egotistic perceptions humans tend to cling to. Creating a mandala takes a lot of time and

Presenter: Welcome. Welcome, to the national radio, bringing you the latest news, and updates. Today we have a special guest speaker, all the way from France... I am happy to present Mr. Daumier, the famous 19th century painter.

My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok, tells a story about a Hasid, young man driven by a great passion: drawing. The character Asher Lev is presented within a Hasidic, Jewish community. These Hasidic communities are very conservative in many aspects; they care deeply and influence their members in a lot of decisions they make in life. The Rebbes of the Jews is the man whose members of the community go to quite often for advice, as Asher’s uncle Yitzchok said to Aryeh, “People go to the Rebbe because they have a cold” (30). The relevance of the Rebbe is shown in very early stages of the book when, for example, Asher’s father explains to him how

Art can be used to express a specific understanding of the supernatural, the values, the universe, human body and life, and the environment of a culture. To Buddhists, the sand mandala’s represent the universe and human life. Mandala’s represent the world in its heavenly form on the outer level, a map of the human mind being transformed into an enlightened mind and a secret level showing the perfect balance of energies in the body and mind. The art in Buddhism reflects the idea that art can be used to express deeper meanings such as the universe and human life. Art can affirm cultural values are the next aspect of culture. The sand mandalas are an accurate example of this as they use them to represent some of their cultural values about life,

complex elementals to take shape. This then enables them to reiterate or run their relative cycle of

There are many ways to convey who I am and what is important to me, one such way are symbols in a mandala. What I chose for my mandala were symbols that represented as strength, independence, friendship, family, and success.These consist of my personality, who is important to me, and what is important to myself in the future.

A mandala , originally seen it tibet , is a circular picture that is created to show something of meaning to a person or a group of people. The mandala is also used to show religious beliefs, which was its original purpose in the fourth century. The mandalas circular shape can also have meaning as well as the content, or symbols, that are inside of it. The circular shape can symbolize the circle of life or even the lack of a beginning or end that the circle has, but everyone has a different meaning to the circular shape and its meaning depends on the creater. The mandalas center picture is very important to the creator because it shows the most important thing to them in life, while the perimeter of the mandala circle is symbols that represent

Examination of the images of the Lord Buddha: the images show the interconnectedness of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha – The Buddha is composed (ordered, symmetric, well proportioned, alert) signifying the Dharma and is clothed in the robes of the monk.

Ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans created many meticulous pieces of art. Some of the meticulous pieces of art are masks, pyramids, jewelry, wall paintings, tombs, sarcophagi. The primal Romans and Greeks showed their appreciation of life through art. India used art to show their dance and their religions. The African art is symbolic of their tribal cuffs as seen of their totem poles.