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The contribution of Buddhism to the World of Art ...
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3. The Lotus Flower, which symbolizes both purity and enlightenment and is a popular motif in much Buddhist art and architecture and is very widely used in Tibetan Buddhist Art.
4. The Wheel, which is a reminder of the Buddha's First Sermon. 'The Turning of the Wheel of the Law” delivered at Sarnath, Varanasi in Northern India and where stand the ruins of the ancient Dhammekh Stūpa commemorating this major event. The wheel has also been adapted to symbolize the wheel of suffering in Sainsāra in Tibetan Buddhism and many examples of it are beautifully and skillfully depicted in Tibetan Buddhist Art on mandals, a type of meditation-aid and on the cloth paintings known as tharkgas.
5. A riderless horse, which recalls Prince Siddhārtha's renunciation of worldly life for the ascetic life and the beginning of his search for the path to Enlightenment.
6. An empty throne, which serves as a reminder of his passing away and attainment of Parinibbana.
After the Buddha's death out of deference to his wishes and devotion to his memory and his teachings, these symbols were widely used in the early days of Buddhist Art in India. Some still survive there and can be seen for example, at the Mahabodhi Temple built at Bodh Gaya, near the scene of the Buddha's Enlightenment. Some of them were also incorporated in later developments of Buddhist art and architecture and featured prominently in places for example, the Temples of Thailand. Many of these symbols are used in contemporary Buddhist art and architecture in both the East and West.
To better appreciate Buddhism's contribution to art and architectural we have to take into account the two major schools of Buddhism, the Theravāda or Hīnayāna and the Mahāyāna as these were to play significant roles in the creation and development of very different types of Buddhist art and architecture. The two schools arose as the result of a rift in the Saṁgha, which had its cause in a dispute over the rule of life for monks. This occurred during the
