Page 151 - China, 5000 years : innovation and transformation in the arts

played an active part in the ritual of invoking the
Buddha and endowing his image with beneficial
and protective power. 12
Since early times Buddhist theologians have
speculated and commented on the relation of the
outer form and the inner principle, the actual and
spiritual presence of deities or saints in images
made by human hands. They were deeply
concerned with the degree of reality and potency
dwelling in a pictorial representation. The efficacy
of Buddhist icons, and therefore of the rituals
addressed to them, was thought to depend to a
great extent on their magic essence. To reinforce
the potency ascribed to the images, all sorts of
—objects precious relics, ritual implements, holy
scriptures and pictures, printed or written magic
spells, miniature figures of deities, even textile
—models of human organs were sometimes
deposited in special cavities or in the hollow
interior of a sculpture before it received its
finishing touches and initial consecration. Literary
evidence and extant statues bear witness to the
early existence of this magic-religious practice in
China, which was not limited to any particular
Buddhist school or category of religious imagery.
SACRED ICONS AND THE BUDDHIST CULT
OF RELICS
One of the earliest references to a sacred deposit in corpus of his sacred words. Thus, by erecting these
a Buddhist figure appears in the biography of the
distinguished evangelist and translator Dao'an
(312-385), who once received a foreign gilded-
bronze statue that was seven feet high:
Whenever there was a lecture or assembly, the
holy images would be set out. Banners and
canopies would be hung up; festoons of beads
would swing; everywhere would be incense
smoke and flowers; so that those who mounted
the steps and crossed the threshold were
awestruck and paid the utmost in devotion. The
foreign bronze image was so archaic in form
and workmanship that most people had no
great respect for it. [Dao-] An said: "The shape
and the body-marks are excellent; the only fault
is that the form of the usnfsa [the protuberance
on top of the head] is incongruous." So he
ordered a disciple to fire and re-mould the
usnTsa. At once a light flamed up with such
Onbrilliance that it filled the whole hall. close
inspection it was discovered that inside the
usnTsa there was a relic. The brothers were filled
with consternation; but [Dao-| An said: "The
statue is already a wonder-working one, and
will not be disturbed by recasting."''1
The unexpected discovery of a sacred relic in the
Buddha's head secured this rare foreign statue a
special rank as miraculous icon, and therefore even
TRANSFIGURING DIVINITIES: BUDDHIST SCULPTURE IN CHINA 149
minor changes of iconographic features due to
repair or finishing work essentially would not
impair its efficacy.
In the orthodox Buddhist sense, the sarTra (C: sheli)
refers to the pure crystallized grains found after the
historical Buddha's cremation; to his ashes and
other bodily remains, such as teeth, hair, finger
bones and fingernails; or to the ashes, bones, and
similar physical fragments of saints. According to
ancient tradition, Sakyamuni's body was incinerated
after he had attained his final nirvana. His ashes and
physical remains were divided with diplomatic skill
and interred in eight separate tumulus-like burial
mounds, or stupas. In the third century bce, India's
first Buddhist ruler, Asoka of the Mauryas,
recovered and brought these relics together again,
later dispersing them throughout his far-flung
kingdom in 84,000 stupas that are said to have been
erected in a single day.
The miraculous division and widespread veneration
of the Buddha's remains established a powerful
precedent. The process of dividing the sarTra again
—and again not only those of Sakyamuni himself,
but also those of his disciples and of later saints and
—patriarchs of the various Buddhist schools created
an almost inexhaustible supply of minute holy
objects for the entire Buddhist world. The
enormous number of 84,000 refers to the number
of atoms in the Buddha's corpus as well as to the
stupas, the pious king As'oka intended to recreate
Sakyamuni's physical body symbolically and to
reconstruct his myriad teachings. The sarTra of the
historical Buddha and his doctrines were
considered equivalent manifestations of the same
reality and sacred presence. The possession of
"authentic" relics ensured the possessor an elevated
place in the ecclesiastical hierarchy as well as in
society. At the same time, it was a powerful
instrument of monastic and imperial legitimacy
and, by stimulating donations from the faithful,
guaranteed economic independence.
In recent years discoveries of Buddhist reliquary
deposits have been reported from almost every part
of China, from Liaoning in the northeast to Yunnan
in the southwest. Sacred Buddhist relic assemblages
were mostly found within or on the site of
pagodas, which served as monumental architectural
reliquaries and usually stood at a distinguished place
on the temple grounds. Relics might be enshrined
not only in a sealed crypt but in other parts of the
—structure as well for example, at the base of the
mast atop the pagoda. The finds date from the tune
of the miti.il impact of Buddhism and its arts on
Chinese culture and increase concomitantly with
the faith's subsequent powerful spread from the
fourth century through the Ming dynastt