Buddha’s Birthday
Education Project
THROUGH THESE DOORS:
Connecting Past and Present,
East and West
Second Meeting of Volunteers
Nantien Temple
2 February 2013
Before we begin…
Someone to take minutes
Turn mobile devices to silent mode
Checking In
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
About Nan Tien Temple
Venerable Jue Ning
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
Welc
om
e to
a u
niq
ue jo
urn
ey a
nd
ed
uc
atio
na
l exp
erie
nce…
Meet the
main
character…
International Journal on
Humanistic Ideology
Chattopadhyay, Madhumita. “Lord Buddha and
Buddhism seen through the eyes of Rabindranath.”
International Journal on Humanistic Ideology 3, no.
2 (Autumn 2010): 87–110,187.
“Lord Buddha and poet Rabindranath Tagore are
the two great personalities who may be regarded
as the cultural icons of India, presenting before
the world the true spirit of India.”
Rabindranath Tagore
(1861 – 1941)
“It was Buddha who had conquered the world,
not Alexander”
Ghare Baire
A Special Birth http://www.paradeofthebudd
has.org/?page_id=1538
Paradeofthebuddhas.org
Buddha’s birth
Literature
An Unusual
Career
http://www.paradeofthebu
ddhas.org/?page_id=1722
Paradeofthebuddhas.org
Buddha’s birth
US Exhibits
The fascinating journey of Buddhism from India to China
through the voyage of the celebrations of Buddha’s birth
Spatially speaking
Chronologically speaking BIRTH OF BUDDHA, C. 566 BCE
DEATH OF BUDDHA, C. 486 BCE
BUDDHISM
FLOURISHES UNDER
KING AŚOKA, c. 272-231 BCE
THIRD COUNCIL OF
BUDDHIST MONKS AT
PATNA,
c. 250 BCE
FIRST CARVING OF
MONUMENTAL
SHRINES AT BIJAR,
c. 272-231 BCE
BUDDHIST
SETTLEMENT AT
BACTRIA,
0-100 CE
MAHĀYANA SCHOOL DEVELOPS AT
GANDHĀRA,
0 – 100 CE
WHITE HORSE TEMPLE AT
LUOYANG,
c. 68 CE
GRECO-ROMAN ART STYLE INTRODUCED AT
GANDHĀRA,
100s CE
KUṢĀṆA RULER
KANIŚKA DISSEMINATES
BUDDHISM, 144-172 CE
AN SHIH-KAO CHINESE SCRIPTURE
TRANSLATIONS, 148 CE
BUDDHIST SHRINES
AT GIAUR KALA (MERV),
200s CE
c. 300s CE - 53 METER
BUDDHA CARVED IN
BAMIYAN CLIFFS,
AFGHANISTAN
BUDDHIST ART FOUND IN
KABUL VALLEY TARIM BASIN,
300s CE
KUMĀRAJῙVA AT TEXT TRANSLATION BUREAU, CHANG'AN, 344 – 413 CE
MOGAO CAVES BEGUN BY MONKS AT
DUNHUANG, 366 CE
FAXIAN'S SILK
ROAD PILGRIMAGE TO INDIA, 399-414 CE
BUDDHISM
TRANSMITTED TO
KOREA, 400s CE
BUDDHIST CAVES
ESTABLISHED AT
KIZIL,
450-750 CE
LONGMEN CRYPTS
BEGUN AT
LUOYANG, 494 CE
BUDDHA'S BIRTHDAY
IMAGE PROCESSIONS
IN LUOYANG, CHINA, 503 - 528 CE
BUDDHISM MIGRATES
FROM CHINA AND
KOREA TO JAPAN, 600s CE
BUDDHISM IN
TIBET TAKES ON
LOCAL TRADITIONS, 800 – 1300 CE
MARCO POLO INTRODUCES BUDDHISM
TO EUROPE, 1254-1324 CE
IMMIGRANTS BRING
BUDDHISM TO SAN
FRANCISCO, NORTH
AMERICA,
1899 CE
The Land-Based Silk Road
Courtesy of Dr. Nancy Cowardin
BUDDHISM’S JOURNEY ON THE SILK ROAD
Besides cloth, paper and other goods, the Silk Road carried another
important commodity which was equally significant in world history:
Buddhism. Along with trade and migration, the world's oldest
international highway was the vehicle which spread the religion
throughout Central Asia. Transmission was launched from northwestern
India, spreading to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Xinjiang
(Chinese Turkistan), China, Korea, and Japan. Buddhism not only
affected the lives and cultures of those regions, but also left us with a
world of wonders in arts and literature.
GANDHĀRA
Once the center of the Kuṣāṇa empire (60 – 226 CE) which
spread across northwestern India and Pakistan, the Buddhist
settlement of Gandhāra was known for producing early
manuscripts in Gandhāri, a language derived from Sanskrit.
These works included the first full-length biography of
Śākyamuni Buddha (the Buddhacarita). Thanks to European
forays into India from the time of Alexander the Great, artisans
in the ancient kingdom developed a blend of classic Greco-
Roman and local styles. The resulting art movement furthered
the transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Routes.
KHOTAN
An oasis town lying in the Tarim Basin, Khotan is strategically located
at the junction of the southern Silk Road and one of the main routes to
ancient India. As such, it was a convenient meeting place where not
only trade goods, but philosophy and religion were exchanged. Circa
399 C.E., the Chinese pilgrim, Faxian traversed the entire region on
foot in order to collect and translate Buddhist vinayas and sūtras.
After returning to China in 414 C.E., he wrote vivid accounts of his
journey, including the image processions in celebration of the
Buddha's birthday which he witnessed in Khotan.
KUCHA
As a Central Asian metropolitan center on the northern Silk Road, Kucha
played a major role in trade economy. By the end of the third century, the
kingdom had fully embraced Buddhism, establishing nearly 1,000
temples and stūpas in the immediate vicinity. At this time, Kuchean
monks such as Fotucheng (232 – 348) began travel to the east,
furthering the dissemination of the religion. Exotic Kuchean music and
dance forms that blended Indian, middle, and far eastern flavors were
introduced to China via the Silk Road and memorialized in the cave art at
nearby Kizil.
DUNHUANG
The Silk Road forked at Dunhuang, an oasis situated amid the Gobi
and Taklimakan Deserts, forcing merchant caravans to choose
between the northern and southern routes. Over time, these and
other pilgrims began constructing cave shrines to insure divine
protection or in thanks for completing the desert journey. This
tradition inspired Buddhist monks to begin work in the nearby
Mogao Caves, circa 366 C.E. The exquisite murals and statuary that
developed are still preserved in these Buddhist grottoes, along with
a walled-up library that housed a comprehensive collection of
ancient manuscripts.
CHANG'AN (XI'AN)
Revived to its cultural peak in the 4th and 5th centuries, Chang'an
became a flourishing center of Buddhist learning. Many important
Buddhist pilgrims and scholars translated sūtras there, among
them, Faxian (c. 340 – 422) and the scholar Kumārajīva (344 – 413).
Chang'an was one of the richest cities in the world at this time due
to the bustling trade of the Silk Road. Accounts told of caravans
tethered outside the city walls in traders' camps of colorful tents.
Here, in preparation for the western journey, camels were loaded
with bundles of exotic spices and seeds, metal and ceramic
utensils, painted scrolls, and cascading piles of silk fabric in all
colors and textures.
LUOYANG
Situated east of Xi'an on the Yellow River, the Northern Wei capital
of Luoyang is considered a cradle of Chinese civilization and the
peony capital of the world. It was also the eastern beginning of the
ancient Silk Road. Acceptance of Buddhism by reigning emperors
circa 500 C.E. led to the establishment of more than one thousand
temples and monasteries in the region, all of which joined in
creating image processions commemorating the Buddha's
Birthday. These joyous annual celebrations are the subject of our
triptych painting.
Buddha’s Birthday Parades in
medieval China
Buddha’s Birthday Parade
in Later Zhao
Between 334 and 349
Shihu liked to glorify the Buddha with incalculable extravagances. He commissioned an altar-carriage. In breadth, it was more than a zhang (approximately 10 feet), in length two zhang, with a golden Buddha image on top of a flat four-wheeled cart and nine dragons above that. A wooden figure of a monk was placed before the Buddha, and all round the Buddha were more than ten monks, each a bit more than two feet in height, all wearing white kaṣāyas. When the cart moved, the nine dragons would spew water over the image of the Buddha, and the monk standing in front of the Buddha would rub the area between the Buddha's heart and his abdomen, as if washing a newborn. The other ten-odd monks would circumambulate the Buddha. As each would come just in front of the Buddha, he would do obeisance, then, taking incense in his hand, deposit it in a censer. When the cart stopped, so would the activity.
Records from the Region of Ye
Later Zhao (319 – 350)
Founding king
Shile (274 - r.319 – 333)
Zhangbin, Shile’s adviser
Fotucheng, Shile’s adviser
Telling sign: Dragons
3rd century, Lalitavistara “The two Naga kings, Nanda and Upananda, remaining in semi-developed form under the sky, bathed the Bodhisattva by pouring two streams of water, one hot and the other cold … Śakra, Brahma, the guardians of regions, and the Devaputras by hundreds of thousands, who had come there, bathed the new-born Bodhisattva with scented water and well-blown flowers, and sprinkled the same about him. Two chamaras, and a jewelled umbrella became manifest in the sky. ”
308 《普曜經》 「天帝釋梵忽然來下,雜名香水洗浴菩薩,九龍在上而下香水,洗浴聖尊,洗浴竟已身心清淨」
Animation and
Architectural Designs
http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?page_id=55
• Paradeofthebuddhas.org
• Art Projects
• Later Zhao Animation
Buddha’s Birthday Parade
in Northern Wei Between 503 and 528
The Ching-Ming Monastery [Bright Prospect Monastery]… At the time, the nation liked
to pray for happiness, [so] on the seventh day of the fourth month all images in the
capital were assembled in this monastery, numbering more than one thousand,
according to the records of the Office of Sacrifices, Department of State Affairs. On the
eighth day, the images [were carried] one by one into the Hsüan-yang Gate, where the
emperor would scatter flowers in front of the Ch'ang-ho Palace. At this moment, gold-
colored flowers reflected the dazzling sunlight, and the bejeweled canopies [over the
carriages] for the images floated in the clouds. Banners were [as numerous as trees] in
a forest, and incense smoke was [as thick as] a fog. Indian music and the din of
chanted Buddhist scriptures moved heaven and earth alike. Wherever variety shows
[were performed], there was congestion. Renowned monks and virtuous masters, each
carrying a staff, formed a throng. The Buddhist devotees and their "companions in the
law" holding flowers resembled a garden in bloom. Carriages and horses choked
[traffic] and jostled each other. A foreign monk from the Western Regions saw it, and
he chanted and said it was [the same as the Buddha's land as he had witnessed it].
A Record of Monasteries in Luoyang
Origin of the Tuoba Xianbei
people
Gaxian Cave in
Inner Mongolia
By 439 CE
Decision to Relocate capital in 494
Pingcheng
Luoyang
Emperor Xiaowen
(r. 471 – 499)
Ironically, the sinification program that revived Luoyang also caused the downfall
of the empire. As part of his sinification program, Emperor Xiaowen placed great
emphasis on Confucianism. His successor, Emperor Xuanwu, favored Buddhism.
The Glory of Northern Wei Luoyang
The Northern Wei Triptych
Music and Song
http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?page_id=1334
• Paradeofthebuddhas.org
• Art Projects
• Music
Tour Guide / Docent Resources
Generic docent skills
Specific BBEP details
http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?page_id=1115
Paradeofthebuddhas.org
About
Volunteer Training
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
Needed from each Team
Docents Display Arts and
Crafts
Merchan
dise
IT Writers Marketin
g
Food
Meet
and
greet,
Tour
guide
Setup Producti
on,
Training,
Facilitati
on
Producti
on,
Sales
Infrastru
cture
Writing,
video
producti
on
Channel
s, public
relations
Samples
,
Producti
on,
Facilitati
on
29/3 –
5/5,
11/5 –
12/5
25/3 –
27/3
29/3 –
1/4,
11/5 –
12/5
29/3 –
1/4,
11/5 –
12/5
Before
March
Now till
31/3
29/3 –
1/4,
11/5 –
12/5
Coordination for Teams Siena: Marketing
Venerable Miao You will send out VIP invitations for
the launch of the entire program (including but not
only for BBEP exhibition)
Juewei: other teams
Venerable Miao You and Venerable Zhili will put
together a program for the launch of the Festival on 31
March 2013
Venerable Zhili will help to coordinate all art & crafts
and food booths
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
Write-up Needed Why is the BBEP mascot an Elephant?
Complement
http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?page_id=1011
Paradeofthebuddhas.org
About
About our Logo
To be placed in our Merchandise and Arts and Crafts
areas
Meet the Sam Family
Sam Sara
Baby Karma
Our logo playfully depicts
the yellow-white, 6-tusked
elephant that appeared to
Queen Maya in a dream.
She thereafter bore Prince
Siddhārtha who matured to
become Śākyamuni Buddha,
the founder and spiritual
leader of Buddhism
"Sara," Sam's companion, is
shown as a helper elephant
in our triptych mural.
Use of Mascot
東漢‧張衡《西京賦》:「白象行孕,垂鼻轔囷。」
“A pregnant white elephant walks with her nose curled into the shape of a wheel.”
Rhapsody of the Western Capital, ZHANG Heng, Eastern Han
found in an Eastern Han
tomb in Luoyang
Artifact in Hsilai Temple,
California, USA
Write-up Needed Introduction to the BBEP Exhibition
Significance of BBEP
Contents of Exhibition
Website information
Significance
• Among the first of its kind the world (Buddha’s birthday
exhibition supported by academic research)
• Put together by a global team of volunteers
• Demonstrating how art can be created from literature
• Connecting people today with the festive and religious
spirit of a historical period
• Buddha’s birthday festival is the oldest international
and extant celebration of the birth of a historical figure
• Buddhism introduced birthday celebrations to China
…and a Fun and Educational Experience
Needed Buy or borrow a globe / world map
Mapshop.com.au
Distribute postcards
Pricing for merchandise (so that we can test the
market first)
In Dropbox (accessible by
team leaders)
The Sam Family (colored and uncolored; t-shirt
and balloon specifications)
Handouts of copyrighted materials (not suitable for
website publication)
Photos of our meetings
What else is needed?
From now till 12:10pm
Finalize team proposal (plan, budget, samples)
for me to present to NTT management on 4/2
Less is More,
Quality is more important than Quantity
Output is EDUCATION
Process is TEAMWORK
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch
Next Meetings
Today, 1:30pm Coordination meeting among team leaders (all are welcome)
9 March (Sat), 10am Training on NTI and local art pieces
Package craft and merchandise
28 March (Thu), 4:30pm or 7pm, Hai Hui Exhibition Hall Gallery walk
25 May (Sat), 10am Review meeting
Depending on demand, special seminars and workshops for BBEP volunteers
Make your mark…
Roster Duties
Docents (tour guides and meet-and-greet team)
29-3, 30-3, 31-3,
1-4, 2-4, 3-4, 5-4, 6-4, 7-4
9-4, 10-4, 11-4, 12-4, 13-4, 14-4
16-4, 17-4, 18-4, 19-4, 20-4, 21-4
23-4, 24-4, 25-4, 26-4, 27-4, 28-4
30-4, 1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 5-5
11-5 am, 11-5 pm, 12-5 am, 12-5 pm
Arts and Crafts, Merchandise
29-3, 30-3, 31-3, 1-4
11-5 am, 11-5 pm, 12-5 am, 12-5 pm
Volunteer application form
http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?page_id=1843
Agenda About Nan Tien
Temple
US exhibits
Logistics
Team leader
presentations
Team discussions
Next steps
Lunch