Tag: bodhitree

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The Big Reveal!!

Hey fellow art enthusiasts! As promised, here I am with the outcome of the little snippet I shared in last week’s post!! So, are you all ready for the big reveal? Here it is!

This is it!
The final artwork

This watercolor artwork is called Bo Tree – The Emblem of Enlightenment. It is a representation of the Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), under which Siddharth Gautam, who later became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or Buddhahood.

The Bodhi Tree is a principal religious symbol in Buddhism due to its prominence in the Buddha’s discovery of enlightenment, or total peace and happiness in the form of Nirvana, or the greater reality. “Bodhi” means awareness and Bodhi tree means the tree under which Buddha becomes fully aware of the noble truth of the universe.

Essentially the ‘tree of awakening,’ also known as the Bo Tree, in Pali it is known as the “bodhirukkha,” in Sanskrit the “bodhivṛkṣa” and to botanists as Ficus religiosa. Given its close association with the attainment of Buddhahood, the tree has great symbolic significance.

This tree as depicted in the artwork represents the supreme knowledge acquired by the Buddha during his tireless meditation. It conveys the teachings and sermons he preached and passed on to his disciples and followers. These teachings are illustrated in the artwork in the Pali script and represented as scribbles in the canopy of the tree.  The tree reflects the capacity of every human being to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha in achieving the ultimate spiritual goal by letting go of the finite self through meditation and self-discipline. The heart-shaped leaves of the Bodhi tree symbolize peace and happiness developing in one’s heart during the journey towards Nirvana.

The Bodhi tree is the DNA of Buddha’s teachings, an emblem of peace and a reminder of the eventual prospect of enlightenment that lies within us all.  

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Buddha Charita – The Life of Buddha

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.”

The Buddha introduced into the world a philosophy which helped mankind navigate through his suffering. The life he led and the experiences that made him confront suffering also guided him to his final destination – the attainment of enlightenment. Buddha symbolizes a path to liberation and detachment from the triviality of the material world.

The most well-known historical account about the Buddha is the story of his life. It is this divine narrative that has become the inspiration for my latest artwork titled “Buddha Charita”, which is also the culmination of my new series – “Buddha Sutra”. Here’s an image of the artwork I have created:

Buddha Charita

Link to a video clipping of the painting – https://www.instagram.com/p/CdSddp6JL2k/

This watercolor artwork is a visual narrative linking several events in the life of the Buddha from his days as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, his confrontation with suffering, his quest for a path towards the cessation of this suffering and his final liberation in the form of his “awakening”.

The first embodiment of the Buddha as the royal Prince Siddhartha has been represented in the right-hand corner of the artwork by an image of him, resplendent with royalty. This is followed by the next stage in his life, where he comes across the sight of a decrepit old man, a sick man, and a corpse which have all been portrayed one below the other in the artwork. These sights changed the perspective of the prince and opened his eyes to all the suffering that accompanies life. Also depicted in the painting, is the image of an ascetic that Gautama encountered, who had learned to seek out spiritual solace in the midst of these worldly miseries and sorrows. Determined to find the same enlightenment, Gautama turned towards the path of renunciation.

After exploring asceticism, or restraint from all physical needs and desires, he discovered meditation and used the practice as a path toward enlightenment. This led to the third stage in the life of Siddhartha, which is displayed in the artwork as the central image of the Buddha, “the awakened one”. The tree on the extreme left of the painting represents the sacred Bodhi tree or the fig tree (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha meditated and finally reached the highest state of enlightenment or “nirvana,” which simply means “awakening”.

In addition to the figurative representation of the Buddha himself, his teachings have also been represented in the artwork through iconographic symbols of the likes of the Lotus flower and the Dharma Wheel. Other icons displayed in the artwork include various Buddhist monuments like pagodas and stupas, specifically the Sanchi Stupa, which is considered to be the most sacred monument of Buddhism, as it represents and displays various Buddhist ideals.  

Through this artwork, I wish to honour Buddha’s life, for it is a reminder of the basic Buddhist principles that form the stepping stones to a higher spiritual level.  It is these principles that serve as a source of strength in the grief-stricken world. It is my attempt to convey the philosophy of Buddha by reflecting on his life’s experiences and pledging to practice inward reflection to overcome sorrows, just as he did.