HAA 82G - Intro to Buddhist Arts of Space and Place

Eric Huntington

How do Buddhists understand the world around them? From vast cosmic mountains to humble domestic altars, Buddhists use places and spaces to define everything from the loftiest goals of the religion to the routine methods of daily practice. Understanding Buddhism, therefore, requires understanding the visual worlds in which Buddhists see themselves to live. This course introduces Buddhist art and architecture that defines concepts of space and place, including depictions of cosmology, geography, and landscape as well as constructions of monuments, mandalas, and altars. Using visual and material culture as a primary source, it is possible to draw deep connections between imagination and reality, showing complex interactions among philosophy, literature, history, ritual, art, and architecture. The course begins with an introduction to the Buddha's life and his impact on landscape and architecture, explores early Buddhist cosmological diagramming, and proceeds to the impacts on art and material culture of the various transmissions of Buddhism across Asia. Along the way, it also addresses major innovations in Buddhist doctrine and practice, such as Mahayana and Vajrayana, and major transnational interactions, such as between Buddhism and science