Big Buddha calligraphy exhibition of 100 calligraphers opens (Taiwan)
Big Buddha calligraphy exhibition of 100 calligraphers opens
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Big Buddha calligraphy exhibition, featuring 100 calligraphers, and described as one of the finest of its kind to ever have been assembled, opened Sunday at Miao-tsin Temple in Yongkang, Tainan County in southern Taiwan.The exhibition, which runs until Aug. 17, is being sponsored by Taiwan Chuan Chin Literature Research Studio and co-sponsored by the Chung-hua Buddhism Literature Foundation and Miao-tsin Temple.
At Sunday’s opening ceremony, 10 calligraphers, including Wang Shi-chorng, the general affairs director of the Ministry of the Interior, demonstrated their craft for the show’s visitors. Chen Chin-chien, founder of Taiwan Chuan Chin Literature Research Studio, said that while there are many Buddhists in the world, there has never been an exhibition of Big Buddha calligraphy to match this one.
He said the motivation for the exhibition, which he has been preparing for years, was his desire to spread Buddhism’s teaching of compassion, bestow its blessings and promote awareness of Buddha-related cultural arts.
Myanmar: Two very ancient statues of Buddha found in Mandalay city , Burma
By Ashin Mettacara
In Mandalay, the second city of Burma ( also known as Myanmar) three very ancient Buddha statues have been found . According to a local resident source, the Buddha statues appeared in the Irrawaddy river two days ago.
Unfortunately, one disappeared and only two of them have been saved. Their size and age are not mentioned yet, but one is said to be huge. At the moment the two statues of Buddha are being honored by the people at the Yan Myo Lone Temple, 41 street in Mandalay city.
The Buddha represented by these statues is considered the holiest Buddha by Burmese people. He is called Paw Daw Mu. These photos are taken by a local resident.
Buddha’s treasure (Vietnam)
A visit to the sanctuary of Van Phat Quang Dai Tong Lam Pagoda in the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province gives travelers a glimpse of the solemn architecture of Asian Buddhism and eases the distress of bustling city life. |
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Located around 70 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, the pagoda rests by the side of National Highway No. 51 in Tan Thanh District’s Phu My Commune. Nested in a tranquil site at the foot of Thi Vai Mountain, the pagoda, which was originally built in 1958, is surrounded by green trees and enchanting lakes. Through the years, the pagoda has been renovated several times, including the main sanctum which is 91 meters long and 46 meters high – recognized as the largest of its kind in Vietnam – among other supporting buildings. Van Phat Quang, which means ten thousand glittering Buddhas, is symbolic of the pagoda which is home to a tremendous collection of Buddha statues, most of which are displayed on the walls in the main sanctum. In front of the main sanctum is Vietnam’s largest shrine which displays the Mitreya Buddha, weighing six tons and made of granite. Another distinguished statue is the 17-meter-high Bodhisattva Kwan Yin, which is accompanied by around 46 smaller versions in the compound. A unique image that will surely impart a lasting impression on visitors to the pagoda is the sight of a giant Buddha resting on the foot of an ancient tree, praying for happiness and peace. |
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Buddha statue brought to the US, welcomed by dozens in Arlington
ARLINGTON - Outside the Drikung Meditation Center, strings of brightly colored prayer flags rode each breath of wind, while inside, voices were raised in prayer to Buddha.
For Lama Konchok Sonam and the more than 100 people gathered at the Tibetan Buddhist meditation center, yesterday was a day of celebration. After 2 1/2 years of fund-raising, Sonam succeeded in bringing one of Tibet’s most honored statues to the Boston area, and they had gathered to welcome it.
The 600-pound life-size statue of Buddha called Jowo Rinpoche is a replica of a statue that sits in a temple in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city. The statue, made in Nepal, may be the only one like it in the United States.
Sonam said he hopes to create a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists who are unable to make the journey to Tibet for financial, political, or other reasons. He plans to move the statue to a new home when money has been raised to construct a building to house the Jokhang Institute, an organization Sonam founded recently that aims to preserve Tibetan culture and tradition.
“It’s a very exciting time because we don’t have a statue like this here,” said Alexis Tsapatsaris, the president of the Drikung center, who has helped Sonam. “For believers of Tibetan Buddhism, it’s the Buddha himself.”
Tsapatsaris said a site for the Jokhang Institute has not been determined.
A little before 11 a.m. yesterday, Sonam sat on a pillow on the floor of the main prayer room in the center surrounded by monks and lamas. The statue rested in a smaller area at the front of the room. In front of it burned a traditional butter lamp.
He began the prayer, calling out words in Tibetan with his deep, baritone voice. Other voices joined his chant. Handfuls of rice and small, white flowers were passed around and later tossed into the air. Fruit, money, and white scarves were placed before the statue as offerings.
In the crowd were those who had been practicing for many years, and those who had only recently discovered Buddhism.
They were all welcome, Sonam said.
Alicia Snavely, 22, flew to Boston from Tampa to see the statue and the ceremony. Though she couldn’t understand the Tibetan chants, she knew what they symbolized: wisdom and compassion for all.
“I cried a lot; it was just very, very moving,” she said. “I’m still kind of overwhelmed.”
Gandhara art greatly influenced by Greek, Roman, Iranian culture
Mardan ( Pakistan ), July 10 (ANI): Several articles recovered from Mardan, a tribal area in NWFP, like toilet trays, terracotta sculptures, coins etc indicate that the Greek, Roman, Iranian and Central Asian cultures deeply influenced the indigenous Gandhara art and culture in the region.
Speaking at a gathering here, a prominent Pakistani archaeologist Dr Zianul Wahab said that Gandhara was the centre of various arts and its architectural techniques were very popular in the world.
He said that the influence of Greek art on Gandhara could be judged from the fact that a number of toilet trays and terracotta sculptures were recovered from Mardan and other northern districts of NWFP in the second century BC.
He said that Gandhara was the centre of various arts and its architectural techniques were very popular in the world. He said that later on Mahayana Buddhism spread to china, Korea Japan and Tibbat from Gandhara.
Greeks invaded Gandhara but they never touched local religions, cultures and traditions rather they dealt it very gently and decently, the Dawn quoted him as saying.
He further said that Greek coins were wonderful and glorious contribution to the Gandhara art because those coins showed symbols, wild life, pictures of kings and queens, seasons, crops, Buddhist stupas and even natural calamity. Recovery of those coins helped archaeologists to know that 39 kings and three queens ruled Gandhara, he added. (ANI)
Thai Museum at Angkor Draws Tourists, and Criticism
SIEM REAP, Cambodia — There is no question that Angkor and its famed temples are among the world’s archaeological treasures, providing a window into the Cambodian dynasty that flourished there from the ninth century to the 15th century. But tourists who flock to the site in northwestern Cambodia say something is missing; few artifacts remain to help them imagine the customs and rituals of the ancient empire.
Antiquities were looted over the centuries or appropriated by museums in France, the country’s former colonial ruler. Of those that remained, many were relocated to Cambodia’s National Museum, more than 185 miles from Angkor.
Now, a Thai company says it is trying to address the problem, opening a museum that borrows artifacts, including nearly 1,000 Buddhas, from the National Museum and elsewhere. It is just a few miles from Angkor Park, the sprawling area near here that is considered one of Southeast Asia’s most important archaeological sites and includes Angkor Wat, its celebrated temple.
Buddha’s Caves (China)
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Clockwise from top-left: The caves of Dunhuang, an illustration of buildings from the Infinite Life Sutra and an array of painted sculptures
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Sand is implacable in far western China. It blows and shifts and eats away at everything, erasing boundaries, scouring graves, leaving farmers in despair.
It’s one of many threats to the major tourist draw of Dunhuang, an oasis city, on the lip of the Gobi desert: the hundreds of rock-cut Buddhist grottoes that pepper a cliff face outside town. Known as Mogaoku — “peerless caves” –and filled with paradisiacal frescos and hand-moulded clay sculptures of saviour-gods and saints, they are, in size and historical breadth, like nothing else in the Chinese Buddhist world.
And Mogaoku is in trouble. Thrown open to visitors in recent decades, the site has been swamped by tourists in the past few years. The caves now suffer from high levels of carbon dioxide and humidity, which are severely undermining conservation efforts. The short-term solution has been to limit the number of caves that can be visited and to admit people only on timed tours, but the deterioration continues.
Traditional crafts contemporarised (India)
Vikram Goyal is working with several artisan communities and giving modern design a sense of rootedness.
If you were there at fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani’s last fashion show in New Delhi a couple of months ago, you may have noticed, no, not just the ensembles, but a rather unusual aspect to the ramp: Metal “sculptures”, taking inspiration from the minarets of the Taj or of the mosques but also from the shikhar architecture of temples — sitting prettily and easily on Mughal “hookah” bases! The sculptures formed a backdrop to the proceedings.
But now, it may be possible for you to examine something similar at fellow designer Rohit Bal’s store, to open up in the Capital soon. Or, you could simply pop across to luxury design store Viya Home and select a piece for your own living space.
Vikram Goyal, director of the company that has just added a new store in Mumbai — appropriately enough in Colaba’s heritage environs, nestled between a couple of art galleries, not in one of those shiny, insipid “lifestyle” malls — is experimenting with Indian craft traditions at the moment.
The sculpture with which we began is just one example but enter any one of Viya Home’s three outlets in the country (two in Delhi, one in Mumbai) and you see a distinctive style emerge: A modern design sensibility fused with local traditions and inspirations.
There are three feet-high, contemporarised brass lotuses from southern India, functioning here as incense holders and flower vases alternatively, Mughal-inspired fluted metal sculptures and furniture, peg tables with marble tops inlaid with delicate mother of pearl and other semi-precious materials, intricate, hand-crafted overlay completely covering table tops with traditional motifs of plumage and so forth, metal “suns” (but with a diffused effect of the “rays”) that you may pick up to add texture to your walls, and many, many more such ideas that are being picked up by Viya’s moneyed customers all over.
Visiting Dai Tong Lam Pagoda (Vietnam)
VietNamNet Bridge – Along National Highway 51 on the way to the coastal city of Vung Tau, Dai Tong Lam Pagoda is located in Tan Thanh District in the coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, 70km east of HCM City.
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The nine grades of the mandarin system of bliss area displays 48 statues of Buddha Amitabha made of granite standing under the open sky. |
The pagoda is better-known as Van Phat Quang as its 10,000 statues of Buddha are red-lacquered and inlaid with gold mounted on the pagoda’s walls.
Dai Tong Lam Pagoda, which was built by superior Buddhist monk Thich Thien Hoa in 1964, is located on a quiet 54-hectare plot consisting of many pagodas, Zen monasteries, Buddhist temples, and a junior Buddhism college, and is considered the Buddhist center of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
The pagoda has been recognized by the Vietnam Record Book for its four exceptional records, namely the biggest sanctum covering over 3,000 square meters, the biggest granite statue of Bodhisattva Metteyya weighing over 40 tons, the biggest number of statues of Buddha in a pagoda - with over 10,000 - and the Buddhism training center with most learners -1,250 monks and nuns.
The splendor of the current architecture model of Buddhism bearing the hallmark of the national culture is seen via the complex of Dai Tong Lam Pagoda. The new main temple, or sanctum, overlooking four directions shows a splendid place like the elysium. Above the curved tiles are dragons cleverly carved that make them look like hovering over nine layers of cloud.
Attractions for tourists also include the charming landscape along with a lotus pond and fresh air. The entrance leading to the main temple is shaded with two lines of big trees, while under the old fig tree lays a huge statue of Buddha Sakya Muni being deep in religious contemplation. Overlooking in the distance behind the trees sits the Metteyya temple.
On the left side of the pagoda is a place where 48 statues of Buddha Amitabha made of granite 3.3 meters in height, 3.5 tons in weight standing under the open sky. A concrete 14.5-meter-high statue is arranged in the middle. The entrance is paved with red tiles to reduce the heat of summer days.
Especially, in the complex of Dai Tong Lam Pagoda, Thien Hoa nun monastery has been known as a “rice pancake pagoda” for many years. The pagoda serves vegetarian food such as rice pancake or bank xeo, vermicelli and sour imitated- crab soup or bun rieu, vermicelli made of cassava, and noodles soup or pho from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. everyday.
Last but not least, pilgrims can cast off their affliction and tiredness to mingle themselves with nature in a tranquilizing space if they have a chance to visit Dai Tong Lam Pagoda.
Artist reveres Buddha and gods on canvas (Vietnam)
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| Divine revelations: A visitor contemplates paintings on Buddhism at the exhibition. — VNS Photo Truong ViMinh Thu |
HA NOI —Thirty-six large-sized paintings on Buddhism and Vietnamese Belief by Trinh Yen are on display at an exhibition which opened on Thursday.
“The oil paintings are impressive in with their rich Oriental style and underlying Western tones,” said Associate Professor Nguyen Ngoc Dung, head of the Design Department at Ha Noi Open University.
“The painter has astutely expressed in his work a realistic vision of the Vietnamese people’s religious space. The images of Buddha, saints or deities are ones that people hold close to their hearts,” said Dung.
Yen has used various colours skilfully in depicting spiritual stories and portraits of Buddha and saints from Vietnamese spiritual history. One could see how moved visitors to the exhibition were; they stood amazed in front of his work.
Huge jade to be carved into Buddha statue (China)
A ceremony is held in Beijing before a huge Hetian jade is sent to Wuhan on Friday, June 27, 2008. [Photo: cnsphoto]
A huge piece of Hetian jade weighing 3.2 tons will be carved into a Buddha statue and placed into a temple in central China’s Wuhan City.
China News Service reported on Friday that the jade is 241 centimeters long, 175 centimeters wide and 83 centimeters tall. Such huge piece of jade with good quality is very rare.
The jade was found on a glacier at an altitude of 4500 meters in 1994.
(CRI June 28,2008)
Ancient buddha temple restored after quake (China)
Special Report: Post-quake reconstruction
The venerable Guangyan Buddha Temple in Chongzhou city. The temple has been renowned for more than 1,500 years. Then came the May 12th earthquake. The temple was seriously damaged. But less than two months later, repairs have been completed. And the temple has reopened to the public.
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| The venerable Guangyan Buddha Temple in Chongzhou city. The temple has been renowned for more than 1,500 years. (Photo: CCTV.com) |
The earthquake damaged over 40 rooms covering an area of more than 600 square meters.
Restoration work started right after the quake. The renovations caught the attention of the local government. After 20 days intense overhaul, the temple is back to normal. It reopened to public viewing, on Wednesday.
Located deep in the forest, the temple is surrounded by numerous rare trees. One is a phoebe Nanmu - more than1,500 years old. To everyone’s relief the tree survived the quake and remains as healthy as ever.
Editor:Liu Fang
Ming — so much more than vases
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“Two Dragons,” an amber, ruby and gold crown ornament will be on display in “Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty” opening Friday at the Asian Art Museum.
SAN FRANCISCO -The “Ming” banners and posters around The City herald the arrival of a huge, important and well-timed exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, opening Friday and running through Sept. 21. Known officially as “Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty,” the $1.3 million show is a first in several ways.
It is the result of unprecedented collaboration between San Francisco, Beijing’s National Palace Museum, the Shanghai Museum and the Nanjing Municipal Museum.
Most of the show’s 240 artworks — porcelain, paintings, textiles, lacquer, jade, jewelry and more — have never been seen outside of China (and, in some cases, not even there). They arrive in San Francisco for the first viewing opportunity in the United States before going on to Indianapolis and St. Louis next year.
Mayawati’s dream Buddha statue project gets delayed
By Darshan Desai
Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), June 24 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s dream project of building the tallest Buddha statue in the world at 152 metres - taller than the Bamian Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan - has run into rough weather. The execution of the plan has slowed down thanks to massive protests by farmers in Kushinagar town, where the project is to come up on a sprawling 750-acre plot. It is located around 330 km from Lucknow, on the border with Nepal, where the Buddha died, or attained Nirvana, 2,500 years ago.
2nd century “future Buddha” sculpture discovered at ancient site near Taxila (Pakistan)
WAH CANTT, June 20 (APP): The archaeologists team of the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums found a statue of Bodhisattva Maitreya made of black shiest stone belongs to second century AD at the Buddhist monastery locally called Badal Pur situated about 13 km north-east of Taxila Museum.
While talking to newsmen here Friday, Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Khan, Director Exploration of Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums who is conducting the excavation and preservation of this ancient site unveiled that during excavations recently a sculpture of Bodhisattva Maitreya, future Buddha discovered.
He said that the sculpture belongs to second century AD of Kenshka-I dysteny is made of black shiest stone and size is measuring two feet high and 16 inches wide. He said that other important antiquities were also discovered recently including a relic casket made of soap stone, three grinding mills with Kharashoti inscription in which name of the owner is engraved, ten coins, four iron and copper monastery bells and more than ten beads are also discovered. He said that assembly hall is also found in the monastery in good shape and being excavated and preserved accordingly.
How prince’s palace became home to the gods (China)
BEIJING, June 16 — Yonghegong, or the Lama Temple, has always been one of Beijing’s premier tourist attractions. Its central location in the capital ensures its high position on every tour group’s itinerary. Its classic Chinese design features also make it picture-perfect for a busy visitor seeking old-school Beijing snapshots.
Yonhegong is about to become even more popular thanks to the Olympics. The Games cycling road race will whiz past the complex, as international TV commentators explain the background of this interesting architecture.
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Yonghegong is one of Beijing’s must-visit.(Photo Source: China Daily) |
Before it was a Tibetan Buddhist temple, Yonghegong was one of China’s largest-ever homes. It was a palatial residence built in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi for his fourth son, Prince Yinzhen, who later succeeded the throne to become Emperor Yongzheng.
NEW HOME FOR GOLDEN RELIC (Thailand)
World record-setting statue to take pride of place in landmark
Story by SUPOJ WANCHAROEN
In a matter of months, the world’s largest golden Buddha statue, Luang Por Thongkham, at Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram in Chinatown, will be moved to a bigger, grander hall which is set to be a new city landmark.
The new hall, which costs 580 million baht, is part of the government’s celebrations of His Majesty the King’s 80th birthday last year.
Part of the funding for the new hall, which will be completed in September, is from private donors, while 250 million baht was allocated by the Surayud Chulanont government, and 70 million baht came from the temple.
Luang Por Thongkham Phra Buddhamaha Suwanpatimakorn entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 as the world’s largest golden Buddha statue, with an estimated value of 1.8 billion baht.
The 700-year-old statue is an impressive 4.5 metres tall, weighs 5.5 tonnes and is made of solid gold, sculpted in the graceful Sukhothai style. The lap of the Buddha is about 3.78m wide.
Sales of Asian Art and Chinese Ceramics at Sotheby’s Totals $10.6 Million
PARIS.- Asian art and Chinese ceramics brought an impressive €6,841,275 ($10,583,795) here today, the highest total to date obtained in the field by Sotheby’s France. The top price was €456,750 for a Kangxi period gilt-bronze Shyama Tara.
“We are delighted with today’s results” declared Sotheby’s Asian art specialist Christian Bouvet. “They reflect the unique quality, exceptional provenance and reasonable estimates of the works offered – and also the excellent work of our international team in putting together a sale perfectly tailored to our clients’ wishes, which met a highly enthusiastic response among French and international collectors.”
The first session – devoted to Chinese ceramics, mainly from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods, much of it assembled by the Swedish industrialist Dr Carl Kempe (1884-1967) – realized €3,599,550, double the overall estimate. The ensemble, charting the development of Chinese porcelain and recalling the great European collections of the 1930s/40s, appealed to American, European and Asian connoisseurs of classical porcelain.
Excitement on India-China frontier over female Buddha statue
Itanagar, June 14 (IANS) There is a lot of excitement in Arunachal Pradesh’s border region with China as work has begun to erect an 80-feet statue of the White Tara or the female Buddha on the dizzy heights of a peak that overlooks Tibet and Bhutan. “We have begun work to install the statue on top of the Lumla peak in Tawang district. The project will develop the area and attract pilgrims and tourists,” T.G. Rinpoche, a Buddhist leader who is also a legislator in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly, told IANS.The White Tara, associated with Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Buddha known for long life, compassion, healing and serenity.
“Our people in Tawang and elsewhere in the state are very happy with our efforts. The White Tara after all is regarded by our people as the goddess of prosperity,” said Rinpoche, one of the architects of the project.
Chinese Buddhist Treasures, Written in Stone
The script is familiar but irresistible. A cache of art is stored, unexamined, in the bowels of an esteemed institution. Scholars become intrigued. Cataloging begins. The quality is unexpectedly high, and soon an exhibition materializes, accompanied by a catalog that illuminates the tale of neglect, renewed interest and diligent scholarship as well as the splendors of the art.
That is the plot for “Treasures Rediscovered: Chinese Stone Sculpture From the Sackler Collections at Columbia University,” an eye-opening show at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Gallery at Columbia University. Organized by Leopold Swergold, a collector who established a chair in Columbia’s department of art history and archaeology, and Eileen Hsiang-ling Hsu, an independent scholar, it presents 22 works of Chinese Buddhist sculpture. All were given to the university by Arthur M. Sackler around 1970 as part of a broader collection of 3,000 Asian objects, but they were not inventoried until Mr. Swergold was given permission to start sorting through them.
