The Life of the Buddha in Scripture and Art (Member Seminar)
A MEMBER SEMINAR
Sunday, March 7th | 12:00-2:00pm MT Online Only – For Mountain Cloud Members *This is part of our Members Seminar series. Members-only programming provides a setting for more intimate connections between dedicated practitioners. Learn more about Membership here or email Sarah@mountaincloud.org to come as our guest and check out the program.
How has the story of the Buddha been remembered, interpreted, and transformed across centuries and cultures? Art historian Marvin Cohodas will guide us through early Buddhist sculpture and sacred imagery, using art and artifacts to illuminate the Buddha’s life story and invite fresh reflection on its meaning for our own practice.
The first artistic representations of Buddha’s life that have survived date from about 3 centuries after his death, and in the following century the stories began to be recorded in writing. Over the next five centuries, the story of Buddha’s life was transformed into a beautiful, instructive and inspirational legend featuring miracles and divine interventions. We will trace Buddha’s life from conception to death, illuminating the scriptural legend with deeply reverential 2nd-3rd century CE sculptures from monasteries in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as the 8th-9th century stupa of Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia.
This event will include zazen, teaching, small group discussion and larger group discussion.
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Marvin Cohodas earned a PhD in art history at Columbia University in 1974, subsequently teaching at the university level until his retirement in 2015. His specialization involved the arts of Indigenous peoples of Latin America, but his increasing commitment to Buddhism led to a dream of some day sharing his love for Buddhist art with others. Mountain Cloud has provided this opportunity, primarily through the Members Lab. To the left, Marv is depicted with one of his very own handwoven art pieces.