YIFEI SUN'S ONLINE JOURNAL
Critical
Reflection
In the third unit section, I continued where I left off in the first two units, doing the theme of demonic culture and hell in the second unit, and I was keen to do the Buddhist destination for the afterlife in the third unit, namely for Sukhavati. Sukhavati is a pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land. The Pure Land refers to the solemn, pure Buddha Land created by the 48 Great Vows made by Amitabha Buddha when he became a Buddha in Buddhism. It is the main doctrine of the Pure Land sect, where the wish to be born in this Pure Land is practised mainly by reciting the Buddha's name.
Almost everyone in Asia knows about Sukhavati and Sukhavati artwork is very common. The solemnity of these artworks planted seeds within me at a very young age, but I had never explored Sukhavati through my own research and Unit 3 was a great opportunity to do so. Buddhist art is usually in the form of sculpture, architecture and painting, and Sukhavati, because of its grandeur, has survived mostly in the form of paintings.
Glorious Sukhavati Realm of Buddha Amitabha
A PAINTING OF SUKHAVATI
TIBET, CIRCA 1900
Sukhavati
Because the concept of Sukhavati is so complex, one of the very interesting breakthrough points I found was people's understanding of birth and death. People who firmly believe in Sukhavati are very committed to Reincarnation, they don't fear death, they even believe that the most important thing they can do in this life is Reincarnation and they will spend their whole life practising and doing good deeds（Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death).
The most extraordinary way to reincarnation is to make the vow to be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is easier to practice than the Pure Land of Maitreya, and one can be reborn with faith, aspiration and action, and be free from the suffering of the six paths of rebirth.
It is also known as the concept of superior birth and the idea of superior birth. According to their causes, those who are to be born in the Pure Land have three generations: upper, middle and lower. The upper generation view is the view of the three minds of the upper generation, the practice of compassion and non-killing, the welcome by the saints at the end of life, and the various benefits after rebirth.
The middle generation view is also known as the middle generation birth view and the middle generation birth view. This is the view of the middle generation of disciples taking the five precepts and the eight precepts, practising acts of filial piety and nurturing their parents, and being welcomed by the saints into rebirth.
The view of the lower generation is also known as the view of the lower births and the thought of the lower births. This is the view of the lower generation who, despite their evil deeds, meet with good knowledge at the end of their lives and know how to recite the name of Maitreya, and as a result are able to pass on to the next life and receive all kinds of victorious benefits.For these devotees, reincarnation is the golden key to Buddhahood. That's why I try to show Sukhavati scenes in my works. Below I will break down my work and explain my intentions and sources for each section.
My first pair shows the three-faced Avalokitasvara giving a lecture to the disciples. Among the disciples are humans and animals, and even monsters.
Sukhavati 1 from my work
The three-faced Buddha Avalokitasvara
The three-faced Buddha Avalokitasvara in Tsuglagkhang Temple
My first pair shows the three-faced Avalokitasvara giving a lecture to the disciples. Among the disciples are humans and animals, and even monsters. In Chinese, Guanyin is literally the Bodhisattva who "observes the voices of the people of the world" and is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas. In Buddhism, he is the head Bodhisattva under Lord Amitabha of Sukhavati and, together with Daishonin, is the Bodhisattva of Amitabha's side, known as the "Sukhavati Three Sages".
Añjali Mudrā
To clasp hands means to unite the ten Dharma realms in one mind, is a hand gesture mainly associated. The Sutra says: "There is no distinction between the three worlds, only one mind". The ritual of the clasping of hands is a ritual we use almost every day, for example, to clasp hands in front of a holy statue as a sign of respect, and to clasp hands when meeting people as a sign of respect. The clasping of hands may seem simple, but in fact it is a profound expression of the Buddha's teachings. Just like the profound words of the sutras, a single sentence or even a single word may have an infinite amount of meaning and realm. The human body is a microcosm of the universe, and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are cultivated from the human body.
Sheep from Sukhavati
The sheep is a very common animal in our lives. What is the symbolic meaning of the sheep in the Buddhist scriptures? In fact, the word "sheep" is often used in Buddhist scriptures as a metaphor for a mortal who is unable to distinguish between worldly dharma and spiritual practice, and who only knows how to indulge in the three poisons of greed, anger and foolishness, and who longs for the five desires of colour, sound, fragrance, taste and touch. "The five desires. I am painting a sheep here in the hope of changing people's previous perceptions, because the Buddha said that the Buddha transforms all sentient beings, and that sheep are also one of them.
Human
Human beings are the most important group of Sukhavati practitioners. Reincarnation to Sukhavati is all about going alive, not dead. "reincarnation" and "death" are two completely different concepts. "Many people are familiar with what happens when a person dies. Basically, they die of illness, and they die of great suffering.
In looking at what the condition of a nembutsu person who has passed on to the next life is. There are many nembutsu practitioners who are so powerful and accomplished that they know in advance when the Buddha will come to take them to their next life. In fact, these people have not reached the end of their life span. If they do not want to leave, if there are still people who want to listen to their sermons, and if they still have people they can teach, then they can stay for a few more years and it does not matter.
Sukhavati is a place where many "noble" people live, and our "clothes" are dirty and torn, so how can we bring them there? So we have to give up our "new clothes" to be able to go there. Therefore, if we cannot give up this "old clothes", we cannot be reborn.
The "old clothes" are our "karmic body", and the "new clothes" are our "reborn body". And what is death all about? After death, we are reborn in the six paths, taking off one piece of ragged clothing and putting on another piece of ragged clothing, just like that.
Dragon（middle）
Dragon（left）
Master Dharma and the Dragon
The dragon is called "Naga" in Sanskrit, long-bodied and without, and is the most powerful of all the Arahants, the most powerful of the water-borne dragons and the most powerful of the land-borne elephants, hence the metaphor. In Buddhism, it is one of the protectors of the Dharma. The Peacock King Sutra, the Great Cloud Sutra and the Monk's Protection Sutra all contain references to the Dragon King's protection of the Dharma.
According to the Sea Dragon King Sutra, Volume 4, the dragon's son was often eaten by the golden-winged bird, and the dragon king invited the Buddha to get a wisp of his robe to save him. The Dragon Lady, daughter of the Dragon King of Saṅkhāra, went to Mount Lingvu at the age of eight and presented her precious pearl to the Buddha, changing into a male body and taking on the appearance of a Buddha.
The Dragon King's palace is at the bottom of the ocean. In the Sutra of the Dragon King of the Sea, it is said that when the Dragon King of the Sea went to Mount Ling Vulture and heard the Buddha speak, his faith was so great that he wanted to invite the Buddha to his palace in the sea. The Dragon King then went into the sea and transformed himself into a great palace with an infinite number of jewels and all sorts of decorations. The Buddha and all the bhikkhus and bodhisattvas walked together up the treasure steps to the dragon palace, where they were fed by all the dragons and given great teachings.
The power of the Dragon King is similar to that of Chinese legends, in that it is capable of sending rain. The Avatamsaka Sutra says: "There are countless great dragon kings, such as the Dragon King of Villuboyi and the Dragon King of Sagara, who are always diligent in raising clouds and spreading rain, so that all sentient beings are destroyed." In the Dharma Garden Jurchen, Volume 7, The Treatise on Separate Merits and Virtues: "There are three kinds of rain. ...... The rain from the sky is fine mist; the rain from the dragons is very coarse, and when they are happy, it is harmonious and moi. So the dragon has a pivotal place in both Indian Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism.
Nine tails fox
The nine-tailed fox was an auspicious beast until at least the Song dynasty, and in the burial complexes excavated during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there are many paintings of the nine-tailed fox alongside the four divine beasts in the burial chambers, and there is also a theory that the nine-tailed fox was the mount of the Queen Mother of the West, and that it had a single colour of fur, so it had a humble meaning. The nine-tailed fox is also a very famous Chinese demon, and like the sheep, I wanted to include it in my work.
Sukhavati 2 from my work
Mahasiddhi Bodhisattva
Mahasiddhi Bodhisattva
The second work features the Mahasiddhi Bodhisattva of Great Strength lecturing and is worshipped by his disciples. With the light of wisdom shining universally on all, he causes all sentient beings to leave the three paths and attain supreme power; and when he does so, all the lands in the ten worlds shake, hence the name Daishonin. According to the Kama Sutra, he constantly recites Amitabha Buddha and shines universally on all with the light of wisdom, causing one to attain supreme power and majestic freedom, and to guide sentient beings to the Pure Land. He is the right-hand attendant of Amitabha in the Western Paradise, one of the eight great bodhisattvas, and is regarded by the Pure Land sect as the first ancestor of the Dharma world because of his practice of chanting Buddha's teachings. There are many different images of the Bodhisattva, including those holding the Bay Leaf Sutra and the Ruyi, but the most common are of him holding a lotus flower and wearing a crown of heaven with a treasure vase in it. There is a misconception among Chinese folk that the vase contains the relics or ashes of the parents, but the scriptures actually say that the vase contains incredible light and is capable of manifesting the deeds of all Buddhas. In the Kama Sutra: "On the bun of flesh is a precious vase, holding all the light and manifesting the deeds of the Buddhas."
Vināyaka
Vināyaka from Japan
Originally a Hindu god of obstacles, the elephant-headed god, it was later absorbed into Buddhism and is said to be a powerful incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai or Kuanzai Bodhisattva. In Japan, he is regarded as a god who protects Buddhism and brings fortune and good fortune, and is worshipped in temples throughout the country.
elephent in Sukhavati
elephent in Sukhavati
The elephant has a deep connection with Buddhist culture. It is written in the Buddhist scriptures that "the learning of the Purusha is based on action, and the action is more careful and quiet than the elephant, so the elephant is good". This means that the white elephant is a symbol of the great aspirations and virtues of the Bodhisattva, which is why his mount is a white elephant with six tusks. The six tusks in the white elephant represent the 'six degrees'; and the four feet of the white elephant represent the 'four Ruyi', so the symbolism of the elephant is, in Buddhism, the meaning of merit and perfection.
Disciples who worship
Disciples who worship
In the ritual of prostration, Buddhists fold their hands, telling themselves: "I am a lotus flower about to bloom, and there is not much difference between me and the Buddha. My heart is pure and perfect, but it has been contaminated by greed, anger, obsession, jealousy, arrogance, suspicion, etc. I now understand that all these things are sources of harm and I must purify and cleanse them before I can blossom like a lotus flower.
Then, putting my hands together on top of my head, I tell myself, "I must first repent of the sins I have committed from my body since the beginning of time, killing, stealing, evil sex, etc.". Next, placing the hands together on the throat, I tell myself, "I want to cleanse myself of the bad karma created by my mouth, and purify my bad karma created since the beginning of time, such as hurting others, sowing discord, lying, telling lies, telling lies, gossiping, etc., and cleanse my mouth karma. I want to repent of all the bad karma created by greed, hatred and evil views, and wash them all away.
Sukhavati 3 from my work
Amitābha
Statue of Amitabha Buddha from China
Amitābha In the Mahayana Buddhist faith, He is the Lord of Sukhavati，In the early years of Mahayana Buddhism, Amitabha had the same status as Akshobhya in the eastern world of Myohya, and Tantric Buddhism regarded him as one of the five Buddhas of the Five Directions, as the Lord of the Lotus Ministry, and as the master of the Wonderful Observational Wisdom. During the Tang dynasty, the Master Shan-Dao established the Nembutsu method of Pure Land Buddhism, and Amitabha became one of the mainstays of belief in Chinese Buddhism.
third eye
Among the six Buddhist 'divine powers' is the 'heavenly eye'. The third eye is considered to be the doorway to deep inner and higher consciousness. New Age thought sees the Third Eye as a symbol of enlightenment or deep spiritual enlightenment in the form of a mental image. The third eye also represents a deeply meaningful psychological phenomenon. The third eye is often associated with the following: vision, clairvoyance (the ability to see through chakras and auras), precognition and out-of-body experiences. A person who can use these abilities is a "clairvoyant".
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Manjushri Bodhisattva
Statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva from Shantou China
One of the four bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism, this is the left-hand bodhisattva of Shakyamuni Buddha, representing wisdom. He is also known as the Prince of Dharma because he is the head of the Bodhisattvas because of his superior virtues and talents. The name Manjushri translates as "Myriad Auspiciousness", "Myriad Bliss" ; Mañju, pronounced "Manjushri" or Mañju, which means "Manjushri" or "Manjushri", means wonderful and elegant, and śrī, which means "Shri" or "Mūri", means auspicious, beautiful and solemn. It is also known as the Bodhisattva of Wonderful Auspiciousness.
Manjushri is a symbol of wisdom in Buddhism, and is said to be the first in wisdom as he focuses on all the Prajna. The standard image of Manjushri is that of a lion riding on a green lion and holding a sword (sometimes replaced by a jade ruyi for good fortune), the lion as a sign of majesty and the sword as a sign of wisdom. In general, Manjushri is shown in the statue on the left side of Sakyamuni Buddha, together with Shakyamuni Buddha and Pushyamuni Bodhisattva, as the Three Sages of Avatamsaka.
Monkey
The macaque (markata in Sanskrit) is also known by its Sanskrit name, Moghazha. It is often used in classical language as a metaphor for the delusional mind of mortals because of its restlessness, its difficulty in catching and regulating, and its tendency to take one for the other.
In the Miscellaneous Avalokiteshvara Sutra, Volume 43, six animals are used to describe the six roots of living beings: the dog, the bird, the poisonous serpent, the wild dryad, the lost mala and the macaque.
The sutra uses the six animals as a metaphor for the six roots, and uses a strong pillar as a metaphor for the mind of the body, saying that these six animals are tied to a strong pillar, and although each uses its own strength to move to the place of pleasure, it cannot be separated from it. This statement is quoted in Volume 30 of the Kama Sutra, which is called the Sutra of the Six Living Metaphors.
In the sutra, the six windows and one ape are used as a metaphor for the six roots of living beings, and the one ape is used as a metaphor for the mind, which is like an ape that is unable to rest and wants to cling to the external world from the six roots.
The artists I drew on for this project were Raqib Shaw and David mach. They are both artists who specialise in painting grand scenes, and their control of detail is masterful.
Raqib Shaw
Raqib Shaw (born 1974) is an Indian-born, London based artist. He is known for his opulent and intricately detailed paintings of imagined paradises, inlaid with vibrantly coloured jewels and enamel. His paintings and sculptures evoke the work of Old Masters such as Holbein and Bosch, whilst drawing on multifarious sources, from mythology and religion to poetry, literature, art history, textiles and decorative arts from both eastern and western traditions, all infused with the artist's imagination. His work has had a great influence on me, as it is also set in religion and mythology, and his artwork is of great importance to me in my work. The splashes of colour in the images struck me greatly. I hope to learn from his artwork about his colour scheme, his structure and his self-interpretation of religion and mythology.
Raqib Shaw, From Narcissus to Icarus (After Déjeuner sur l’herbe), 2017-2019, acrylic liner and enamel on Birch wood, 60-5/8" × 71-5/8" (154 cm × 182 cm) 62" × 73-1/8" × 2-13/16" (157.5 cm × 185.7 cm × 7.2 cm), frame © Raqib Shaw
Raqib Shaw, The Martyrdom of Icarus (After Honthorst and Carracci), 2018-2019, acrylic liner and enamel on Birch wood, 35-3/4" × 47-1/8" × 2-1/8" (90.8 cm × 119.7 cm × 5.4 cm), 37-1/4" × 48-5/8" × 2-7/8" (94.6 cm × 123.5 cm × 7.3 cm), frame © Raqib Shaw
Shaw's paintings suggest a fantasy world of intricate detail, rich colour and jewel-like surfaces, all of which conceal a series of intensely violent and sexual images. Blended into a vibrant ecology of flora and fauna, half-human, half-animal creatures, screaming mouths and bloodshot or bleeding eyes are dazzling characters in an erotic hedonism whose debauchery is explosive and terrifying.
A typical painting consists of many stages. Shaw begins with small drawings on paper of people, plants and animals. These paintings are then transferred to acetate as individual elements. Shaw begins the composition by projecting these drawings onto the panel, starting from the centre and working outwards. Once the composition has been drawn with the brush, the panel is removed from the wall and laid flat. Then apply a coloured glass liner following the outline of the brush to create tiny water weirs. Using small plastic tubes with tiny nozzles, paint is poured into these dams and then manipulated with porcupine brushes to suggest shapes. Add glitter to specific areas to provide additional decoration. Finally, glue crystals elsewhere to highlight other areas.
David Mach
David Mach studied at Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee from 1974 to 1979 and then at the Royal College of Art in London from 1979 to 1982. from 1982 to 1993 he became a part-time lecturer at Kingston University's School of Sculpture and from 1987 to 1991 he was a lecturer at the Summer School of Contemporary Art in Kitakyushu, Japan. Since 1999 he has been a Visiting Professor of Sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art and in 2000 was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy School, London.
Mach's first solo exhibition was held at the Leeson Gallery in London in 1982. His international reputation was soon established with solo and group exhibitions in the UK and around the world. Most of his work has been commissioned, including Collage Portraits of Glasgow (commissioned by the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art), which was unveiled in March 2002 as part of his major solo exhibition at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art.
In 1988 Mach was nominated for the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery, London, and in 1992 he won the Lord Provost's Prize in Glasgow. in 1998 he was elected as a Royal Academician and lives and works in London.
In contrast, although Mach is a sculptor, I draw more on his collage work.
David Mach - The Agony and The Ecstasy, Precious Light exhibition
David Mach - Visit London, Precious Light exhibition
Research Festival
Based on jingyu Niu's exploration of the theme of secrets, she collected fifty secrets from different countries and ages and found that most of them were confessions or negative emotions about her past experiences. To a certain extent, this is similar to the confessional in a church. According to the research and the theme of Yifei Sun's work Sukhavati, people struggle with all their desires in their practice and if they want to be reincarnation in Sukhavati, they have to follow certain rules in their future life to achieve their practice. On this basis we will be doing more questionnaires at the Research Festival.
References：
Book：Gomez, Luis, trans. (1996), The Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese. Versions of the Sukhavativyuha Sutras, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Book： Williams, Paul. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. 2008.
Book： Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath. India in Early Central Asia. 1996.
Book：Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (2003), The Three Pure Land Sutras.
Book：Tanaka, Kenneth K. (1987). Where is the Pure Land?: Controversy in Chinese Buddhism on the Nature of Pure Land.
Book：Halkias, Georgios (2013). Luminous Bliss: a Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet. With an Annotated Translation. and Critical Analysis of the Orgyen-ling golden short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra. University of Hawai.
Book：Johnson, Peter, trans. (2020). The Land of Pure Bliss, Sukhāvatī: On the Nature of Faith & Practice in Greater Vehicle. (Mahāyāna) Buddhism, Including The Scripture About Meditation on the Buddha ‘Of Infinite Life’.
Book： Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (2003), The Three Pure Land Sutras , Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
Book：Rhie, Marylin M. (2010). Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia, Volume 3: The Western Ch'in in Kansu in the Sixteen. Kingdoms Period and Inter-relationships with the Buddhist Art of Gandh?
Web：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitbha
Web：https://www.hungkardorje.org/practices/amitabha/sukhavati.php
Web：https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/gods-guardians-south-asian-works-art/painting-sukhavati-48/74172
Web：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation
Web：https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:8O3temple-icon1.jpg