Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sandstone sculpture, 'Meditating Buddha'
Wayan Kandiyasa honors Buddha with an admirable sandstone sculpture. Born Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, modern-day Nepal, it is said that a fortune-teller divined that he would become a teacher of the world. At age 29, Siddhartha left his wealthy family in pursuit of the truth and after six years, he had the religious epiphanies on which Buddhism is based. In short, a wholesome existence guided by the right understanding, the right thinking, the right speech, the right conduct, the right livelihood, the right effort, the right mindfulness, and the right concentration releases one from the painful cycle of life and death.
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After the Tubo regime was established, the Tibetans increased their political, economic and cultural exchanges with the Han and other ethnic minorities in China. In 641, King Songzan Gambo married Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In 710, King Chide Zuzain married another Tang princess, Jin Cheng. The two princesses brought with them the culture and advanced production techniques of Central China to Tibet. From that time on, emissaries traveled frequently between the Tang territory and Tibet. The Tibetans sent students to Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, and invited Tang scholars and craftsmen to Tibet. These exchanges helped promote relations between the Tibetans and other ethnic groups in China and stimulated social development in Tibet.
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