The Buddha triumphing over Mara at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

The lump on the top of his head is sometimes said to indicate extraordinary wisdom. He is represented in a posture portrayed widely, seated with his legs crossed in a meditative position. The twisted garland of beads behind the Buddha's head represents his halo, a symbol of radiance. Around the inside of this halo, incised in low relief, is a standard formulation of a basic Buddhist belief: "The Buddha has explained the cause of all things that arise from a cause. He, the great monk, has also explained their cessation." Here we see elements that tell us we're in the presence of the Buddha as he was on the threshold of achieving enlightenment. Above his head are branches of heart-shaped leaves. They indicate the sacred bodhi tree, under which he is said to have attained enlightenment some 2,500 years ago. His right hand reaches downward to touch the pedestal—symbolizing the ground on which he sat. Buddha images seated with the right hand in this earth-touching gesture memorialize the victory of the Buddha-to-be over the demon Mara, an embodiment of delusion and uncontrolled passions. After many lifetimes of spiritual and intellectual preparation, while the Buddha-to-be sat in meditation under the bodhi tree, he and Mara repeatedly challenged each other's power and accomplishments. Mara approached at the head of a monstrous army, determined to stop the Buddha's enlightenment. The Buddha stretched out his right hand, calling out to the earth to witness his right to attain Buddhahood. The mighty earth thundered, "I bear you witness with a hundred thousand roars." And Mara's followers fled. This sculpture was created in northeastern India, near Bodh Gaya, the site where the momentous event is said to have occurred. Over the centuries, pilgrims from all over Asia have journeyed to this sacred Buddhist site, returning home with texts and artworks that carried Buddhism to other parts of the world. Today, they still travel to Bodh Gaya to see the descendant of the Buddha's bodhi tree. Buddhism has deeply influenced the character and evolution of Asian civilization over the past 2,500 years. It is based on the teachings of a historical figure, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived around the fifth century BCE. As it moved across Asia, Buddhism absorbed indigenous beliefs and incorporated a wide range of imagery, both local and foreign, into its art and religious practices. Buddhism continues to evolve as a religion in many parts of the world. Buddhism is a complex subject, a philosophy that has evolved in many different ways and various regions of Asia, and is still a living faith today. Providing simple definitions for the beliefs and art historical developments of Buddhism is therefore difficult, because so many variations occur. The student of Buddhism should be aware of these variations and points of view. Here we provide a very general overview as a foundation for looking at historical Buddhist arts, focused on the art of India. The historical Buddha-to-be, Siddhartha Gautama, was born around the 6th century BCE into royalty at Kapilavastu, which lay in the foothills of the Himalayas near the present day Nepalese-Indian border. For most of his youth, the prince led a sheltered existence within the palace, where he enjoyed court life, married a princess, and had a son. Venturing forth from the palace, he finally witnessed disturbing sights he had never before experienced: sickness, old age, death, and a mendicant ascetic. Deeply unsettled by what he had seen, the prince finally renounced his worldy life, and set out on a quest for truth, to confront human suffering and the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). Along with other thinkers who lived during this era, the Buddha was also troubled by the caste system, which denied many the possibility of salvation, as well as by the exclusivity and abuses of the brahman priestly caste who controlled religious practices at that time. The Buddha sought to find an end to human suffering. He first engaged in extreme austerities as practiced by mendicants and ascetics of his time. After several years of these practices, Siddhartha concluded that this extreme path was not the correct route to perfect understanding (enlightenment). Rather, he proposed that a middle way between extreme austerity and extreme indulgence was the path to wisdom and freedom from suffering. The Buddha declared that he would meditate under a banyan tree until he achieved enlightenment. This phenomenal event occurred at Bodh Gaya in the contemporary state of Bihar, which is one of Buddhism's great pilgrimage sites. As a result of his attainment of enlightenment, the prince Siddhartha Gautama was now truly the Buddha, the Enlightened One. He was also commonly referred to as Shakyamuni, the sage of the Shakya clan. The Buddha distilled the principles of enlightenment into a doctrine known as The Four Noble Truths. These are: Life is suffering. Suffering is caused by desire, and by clinging to the notion of self. It is possible to end suffering. To end the suffering caused by desire and ego, one must eliminate the cause. Suffering can be ended by following the Noble Eightfold Path, a set of resolutions characterized by aconcern for morality, concentration, moderation, positive action, and wisdom. Though it evades easy definition, and it varies according to the particular branch of Buddhism, the ultimate goal of most Buddhists is to reach nirvana, a state of bliss in which human desire, ego, and suffering are extinguished. As a collective faith, Buddhism first developed in northeastern India with the historical Buddha's own followers, who formed a community of monks and laypersons during his lifetime. Those wishing to join the monastic order renounced family and worldly ties, and proclaimed their faith in the "three jewels": the Buddha, the doctrine (dharma), and the monastic community (sangha). After the Buddha's death, concerns arose regarding the interpretation and survival of the order and doctrine. A first council established a set of beliefs on the basis of those surviving monks who could remember what the Buddha had said. Subsequent councils added to these sayings. Debates arose over the apparent contradiction between no-self and rebirth (how could one be reborn if there was no self?), and over the questions of who could be enlightened and whether enlightenment was gradual or spontaneous. By the beginning of first millennium, there were approximately eighteen different schools of Buddhism in India. (Credit; Asian Art) This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.Scanned : Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)他头顶的凸起常被认为象征着超凡的智慧。该造像采用广为流传的禅定坐姿——结跏趺坐。佛陀脑后缠绕的珠串花环代表其头光（halo），是光明普照的象征。头光内侧以浅浮雕镌刻着佛教基本教义的标准表述：“佛陀阐释了一切因缘所生法的缘起，这位大沙门亦阐释了其灭尽。” 此处可见的元素表明，我们正见证佛陀即将证得觉悟的时刻。其头顶上方有心形叶片的枝条，代表神圣的菩提树（bodhi tree）——相传约2500年前，佛陀便是在此树下证得无上正等正觉。 他的右手向下伸至基座，触地结印——象征其所坐之地面。以右手触地坐姿造像的佛陀，纪念着未来佛陀（Buddha-to-be）战胜魔罗（Mara）的胜利：魔罗是无明与炽盛烦恼的具象化化身。 历经多生累世的灵性与智性修持，当未来佛陀在菩提树下禅定时，他与魔罗反复较量彼此的力量与功德。魔罗率领可怖的大军逼近，决意阻止佛陀证悟。佛陀伸出右手，呼唤大地见证他证得佛果的权利。大地轰然作响：“我以千万次轰鸣为你作证。”魔罗的部众随即溃散。 此造像创作于印度东北部，临近菩提伽耶（Bodh Gaya）——相传佛陀证悟的历史性时刻便发生于此。数百年来，来自全亚洲的朝圣者前往这座佛教圣地朝拜，携带着佛经与艺术作品返乡，将佛法传播至世界其他地区。时至今日，人们仍会前往菩提伽耶瞻仰菩提树的后代植株。 在过去2500年间，佛教深刻影响了亚洲文明的特质与发展历程。佛教的根基是一位历史人物的教法：悉达多·乔达摩（Siddhartha Gautama），生活于公元前5世纪左右。随着佛教在亚洲传播，它吸收了本土信仰，并将大量本土与外来的意象融入其艺术与宗教仪轨之中。 时至今日，佛教在全球诸多地区仍持续演化。佛教是一个复杂的议题：作为一种哲学，它在亚洲诸多区域以不同路径发展，至今仍是鲜活的信仰。因此，为佛教的信仰与艺术史发展给出简单定义极为困难，因其流派与变体繁多。佛教研究者应当知晓这些差异与不同视角。此处我们仅提供极为概括性的概述，作为研究印度佛教艺术史的基础。 历史上的悉达多·乔达摩，即未来佛陀，于公元前6世纪左右诞生于迦毗罗卫城（Kapilavastu）的王室家族，该城坐落于喜马拉雅山麓，临近今日的尼泊尔-印度边境。在青年时代的大部分时光里，这位王子在王宫之内过着与世隔绝的生活，尽享宫廷乐事，迎娶了公主并育有一子。当他走出王宫后，首次目睹了此前从未见过的令人不安的景象：病痛、衰老、死亡与一位苦修的沙门。目睹此景后，王子深受触动，最终舍弃世俗生活，踏上探寻真理的旅途，直面人类的苦难与生死轮回（samsara）。 与同时代的其他思想家一样，佛陀亦对当时的种姓制度深感忧虑——该制度剥夺了多数人获得解脱的可能，同时也不满掌控宗教仪轨的婆罗门祭司种姓（brahman priestly caste）的排他性与腐败。佛陀致力于探寻终结人类苦难的路径。他最初效仿当时的苦修者与沙门，践行极端苦行。历经数年苦行后，悉达多意识到，这条极端之路并非通往圆满觉悟的正途。相反，他提出：介于极端苦行与极端享乐之间的中道，才是通往智慧与解脱苦难的路径。佛陀宣告，他将在榕树下禅定，直至证得觉悟。这一历史性时刻发生于今印度比哈尔邦的菩提伽耶，此处亦是佛教最重要的朝圣圣地之一。 因证得觉悟，王子悉达多·乔达摩自此成为真正的佛陀，即觉悟者。他亦常被称为释迦牟尼（Shakyamuni），即释迦族的圣人。佛陀将觉悟的要义提炼为一套教义，即四圣谛（Four Noble Truths），其内容为： 1. 生命即苦。 2. 苦源于欲望与对“自我”的执着。 3. 苦可灭。欲灭除由欲望与我执引发的苦，须根除其根源。 4. 遵循八正道（Noble Eightfold Path）可灭苦：八正道以道德操守、专注力、中道、正行与智慧为核心要义。 尽管难以给出统一定义，且随佛教不同分支而有所差异，多数佛教徒的终极目标皆为抵达涅槃（nirvana）——一种泯灭人类欲望、我执与苦难的极乐境界。 作为一种集体信仰，佛教最初由历史上佛陀的追随者在印度东北部发展而来，在佛陀在世期间，他们便形成了僧侣与在家信众的共同体。希望加入僧团者须舍弃家庭与世俗羁绊，并宣信“三宝”：佛陀、法（dharma）与僧伽（sangha）。 佛陀入灭后，关于僧团与教义的诠释与传承问题引发了诸多争议。第一次结集由尚能忆起佛陀教法的幸存僧侣主持，确立了核心信仰体系。后续的结集则增补了更多佛陀的言教。彼时围绕“无我”与轮回之间的矛盾（若无“自我”，何以轮回？），以及谁可证悟、证悟是渐修还是顿悟等问题，引发了诸多辩论。至公元1世纪初，印度境内已有约18个佛教流派。 （供稿：亚洲艺术（Asian Art）） 本造像隶属于世界扫描项目（Scan The World）。该项目是MyMiniFactory发起的非营利性倡议，旨在建立全球可3D打印雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑的数字档案，供公众免费获取。世界扫描项目是开源的社区共建项目，若您身边有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。本次扫描采用摄影测量法（Photogrammetry，使用Agisoft PhotoScan软件处理）。