Māra's Assault on the Meditating Buddha' - Iconogaphic and Textual Development of a Buddhist Narrative in Medieval China
Dr. Christoph Anderl
Guest Prof. for East Asian Linguistics, Ghent University
Senior Researcher, Project Staff: "Dynamics of Text Corpora and Image Programs: Representations of Buddhist Narratives Along the Silk Road" (CERES/ MERCATOR), Ruhr University Bochum, Center for Religious Studies
Abstract:
The attacks on the meditating Buddha by the Demon King Māra (including the temptation of Buddha by Māra's daughters) are popular topics in Buddhist literature and iconography throughout India, Central Asia, and China.
Whereas depictions in India are characterized by a certain diversity, the Māra iconography underwent a process of codification and standardization in Gandhāran art. The talk will provide a short overview of textual and iconographic sources in India and Gandhāra, and focus on the transformations which took place in the depiction of the topic in medieval Chinese art, as well as tracing developments in Chinese popular literature.
Through this case study, aspects of transfer and transformation processes concerning the spread of Buddhist narratives along the Silk Road will be analyzed.