The Depiction of the Eight Great Events of the Buddha's Life
Panel showing four events of the Buddha's life, 5th c., Sarnath, India, Archeological Survey of India, Archeological Museum of Sarnath, Sarnath, Accession Number 262.
Panel showing eight events of the Buddha's life, 7th-8th c., Sarnath, India, Archeological Survey of India, Archeological Museum of Sarnath, Accession Nr. 261.
Stone stele of the eight great events of the Buddha's life, 10th century, Jagdispur, India, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 260.
Stele with scenes from life of the Buddha, 11th-12th c., Burma, Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028, Department of Asian Art, accession number 2015.500.4.23.
Eight great events stele, 11th-12th c., Eastern India (but Burmese origin), Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028, Department of Asian Art, Accession Nr. 2015.782.3.
Thang ka of the eight great events of the Buddha's life, 12th-13th c., Tibet, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 300.
The Buddha at Vajrāsana and Stūpas, 12th-13th c., Tibet, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 303.
Depiction of eight great events of the Buddha's life, 12th c., Yulin Cave 3, main panel, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 319.
Cave painting of the firts great event of the Buddha's life, Dunhuang Cave 76, China, late 11th c., Toyka-Fuong, Ursula . "The Influence of Pala Art on 11th-century Wall-paintings of Grotto 76 in Dunhuang," in The Inner Asia International Style 12th-14th Centuries. Papers presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Deborah E. Klimburg and Eva Allinger, 67-95. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1998, 90.
The following images display some examples of the depiction of the eight great events of the Buddha's life from India, Tibet, Burma (Myanmar) and China (Dunhuang Cave 76 and Yulin Cave 3). They have different forms and materials connected to the different cultural background they were produced in. It can also be seen a variety in the number of events which are depicted.
The images not only show a difference in form but also a shift in focus. Which will be shown in the following slide.
Following the first example from India, which only displays four of the eight mentioned events, then a panel of the eight events, side by side in equal size, and at last the form of depiction which became the standard form from the 8th century on. This form then was transmitted to countries outside of India in the 10th century. As shown in the examples from Burma, Tibet, and Yulin Cave 3.
In Dunhuang Cave 76, which is an old oasis town located on the silk road in the west Chinese province Gansu, we can see a different form of depiction. Here the events are displayed in eight separate cave paintings and not in one single image. Nevertheless they show similiar functions with the examples from Tibet and Burma.