I just watched Goya's Ghosts, and it was fantastic. I've always loved Fransico Goya - especially his darker work, which is showcased in this movie. It's probably a mixture of my morbidity and passion for atheism, but they are truly beautiful works. I recommend it to everyone.
My life as an Art History college undergrad, etc...
About Me
- Lindsay
- Chicago
- I'm an art history undergraduate right now focusing in Japanese Buddhist and Contemporary arts. I plan on getting my MA in Japanese Language and Art History, and my PhD in Art History as well. I'm super driven by my school work, but also love to spend lots of time with my hobbies - art and video games ^^
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So, I've been watching a lot of programs about space travel lately... especially involving Mars. I was also suffering from the monthly (seasonal in my case) disease that only women get, and started thinking... How do women menstruate in space? Strangely, this morning I logged onto facebook and someone posted a link to a site that explained it all:
I haven't posted on here for a while... Would you like to read a not-too-long, but incredibly genius paper? It's mine... so I warn you I might've gone a bit overboard on the 'genius' part... but I'm very, very proud of my baby. I read a lot of primary sources for this (alas, I did not get a chance to cite them, as my paper would be too long for the class requirement), and also did a bit of original research.
Gender in Japanese Buddhism: Images of Kannon
Introduction
Medieval Japanese society viewed women as a negative product of their biological and spiritual pollution, yet their female Buddhist deities are viewed as unambiguously positive. In order to become enlightened females had to transcend their female characteristics and become male (Pandey 325). This sexual transformation is ostensible in figures of the Bodhisattva Kannon, who was generally perceived as a female bodhisattva, but often retained male characteristics (Faure 360).
Women in Japanese Buddhism
Buddhism in Japan was not easily accessible or incredibly tolerant of women. In order to be ordained as a nun women had to follow the Eight Strict Rules, which made them subordinate to all monks, regardless of their own rank (Faure 23). Subservience was a common factor in all relationships to women in Japan – in childhood they must be subservient to their parents, then to their husbands, and then to their sons after the death of their husbands (Faure 62). Also, Buddha hood was believed to be impossible for a woman to reach unless she was first reborn as a man (Pandey 325).
In both Shinto (Japan’s native religion) and Buddhist beliefs women were seen as impure due to taboos concerning menstruation and childbirth. The vile product of these events, blood, was considered to pollute the earth and anger the earth god. It was even believed that women who died in childbirth (a horrible taboo of both blood and death) would be sent to a level in Buddhist hell where they would forever swim in the menstruation of women (Faure 69). These taboos concerning women and their impurity did not allow for women to enter many temples. Most of the temples they were allowed to enter were dedicated to Kannon (Faure 237).
However, women were not completely seen in a negative light. In the collection of stories titled Kankyo no Tomo (A Companion in Solitude), written by a monk by the name of Keisei in 1222, several women are shown in a moral light and used as examples for Buddhist women. These women triumphed over what were called the Seven Vices of Women (they arouse men, are jealous, deceitful, vain, attached, have uncontrolled desire, and are the source of foul events like menstruation, pregnancy, and child birth). Paired with the Seven Vices were the Five Obstructions of rebirth for women – they could not be reborn as Brahma, Sakra, Mara, a cakravartin, or a Buddha (Pandey 326). These moral tales by Keisei often tell of women who triumph over their innate obstacles in order to aid men in reaching enlightenment. In one tale, a well-respected monk falls for a beautiful woman. In order to cure his delusion she removes her make-up, slathers her clothing in blood, and paints her body in order to create the illusion that her body is rotting. The monk then thanks the woman for alerting him to the illusion of appearances and becomes enlightened (Pandey 326-9). However, the duality implied by these vices and obstructions, which create gender difference, are against Buddhist doctrine, which would state that these are not innate qualities, as all states are illusionary and arbitrary.
Women were also seen as a positive force in Buddhism in the form of “Jade Women”. These women performed similar duties to the woman mentioned in the Kankyo no Tomo above. They transmitted the sexual desire of men in order to allow them to be reborn into the Pure Land. Kannon was often depicted as a “Jade Woman” who would come to monks in their dreams. This is often seen as part of the bodhisattva Kannon’s vow to save all beings (Faure 205-7).
The Bodhisattva Kannon and the Lotus Sutra
Kannon is the Japanese bodhisattva of compassion and mercy and is intrinsically tied up with the Amida Buddha and the idea of the Pure Land (Edmonds). The Bodhisattva Kannon appears in the 25th chapter of the popular Lotus Sutra. In this chapter it shows her thirty-three transformations that she undergoes in order to save all sentient beings – this is Kannon’s pledge. If one simply recites the name of Kannon they will be saved from the seven misfortunes (fire, flood, wind, weapons, demons, punishments, and thieves) as well as the three poisons (greed, anger, and ignorance) (Tanabe 1989).
She is also well known for her ability to remove obstacles, and was thusly revered by women for she had the ability to remove the five obstacles that kept women from attaining enlightenment (Faure 66). As mentioned above she was also seen as a “Jade Woman” who would satisfy the sexual desires of monks in order to aid them in attaining enlightenment. This would either happen in their dreams, or in the form of a woman or young boy seen as an avatar of Kannon that would have preformed sexual acts upon them (Faure 205-7).
Gender Depicted in Images of Kannon
The common forms of Kannon that are depicted are the eleven-headed Kannon, 1000-armed Kannon, white-robed Kannon, true form Kannon, and the Nyoirin Kannon. The white-robed cannon is the form most often connected to the feminine. Kannon can often be identified as having the Amida Buddha in her crown (Edmonds).
Kannon is often described as female, however images of her often retain many male characteristics. This may be due to the fact that it was believed that a woman had to go through a sexual change and attain a male-like body in order to achieve enlightenment. Thusly, maleness is a prerequisite for enlightenment (Pandey 325).
From Pale, Little Thing |
The arms in the 1000-armed Kannon (fig. 5) are used in order to convey her ability to aid and save all living beings, as stated in the Lotus Sutra. In order to do this she would of course need many arms (Getty 55). The figures in figure 5 convey a large amount of femininity in their alluring body proportions and posture. The bodily proportions of these figures are reminiscent of Indian Yakshini figures, which represent fertility. They also appear to have slight breasts and incredibly feminine faces. These same qualities can be seen in the true from Kannon in figure 4.
Figure 6 and figure 7 are details from examples of white-robed Kannons. The white robed Kannon is believed to represent Kannon’s paradise, one of the many different pure lands that existed in Pure Land Buddhism (Ford 35). Both examples show feminine figures, however figure 6 seems much more feminine and elderly. They both have a floral tattoo on their chests, however figure 5’s appears much more abstracted and looks almost like chest hair. Even though these images are still slightly androgynous, they present much more obviously feminine qualities.
The images examined of Kannon appear to form a trend of feminizing the bodhisattva over time in Japan. This trend can be seen continuing on into later images of Kannon, even on into the 19th century in Kannon the Merciful Mother (fig. 8). This image is both feminine in the physical depiction of the bodhisattva, as well as her nurturing and motherly aspects that are alluded to in the image.
Conclusion
The overt maleness seen in images of the Kannon is a reflection of the Japanese society that crafted them. Buddhist women in Japan needed to overcome several supposed obstacles of femininity to even consider becoming serious members of the Buddhist faith – even then it was not believed possible for most women to reach Buddha hood or become a bodhisattva. Regardless of this Kannon was perceived as a female bodhisattva and became one of the most venerated of all the bodhisattvas in Japan. The rising popularity and feminizing of the bodhisattva Kannon may have lead to the gradual acceptance, and even admiration, of many female Buddhist figures and sanghas in Japan.
Works Cited
Bogel, Cynthea J. "Canonizing Kannon: The Ninth-Century Esoteric Buddhist Altar at Kanshinji." The Art Bulletin 84 (2002): 30-64.
Edmonds, Richard Louis et al. "Japan." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 18 Nov. 2008
Faure, Bernard. The Power of Denial - Buddhism, Purity, and Gender. New York: Princeton UP, 2003.
Ford, Barbara B. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 45 (1987): 4-56.
Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1962.
Pandey, Rajyashree. "Women, Sexuality, and Enlightenment: Kankyo no Tomo." Monumenta Nipponica 50 (1995): 325-56.
Tanabe, George J., and Willa J. Tanabe, eds. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. University Of Hawaii P, 1989.
Watson, Burton, trans. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia UP, 1993.
I am currently enjoying some Baroque Classical music a la Pandora. I haven't really listened to much classical music in a while. Baroque was always some of my favorite - the passion is explosive! I used to fall asleep to music like this in my Pre-Derek age. Some find it a bit too fiery to fall asleep to, but for some reason it just melts my worries and relaxes me. Also, the pure abstraction that exists in just melody alone is very freeing... I love rock music and various other kinds, but this is different - and in that difference it is fantastic.
So... I just watched the Vice Presidential Debate. I'm pretty politically apathetic - I'm slightly liberal, and usually identify with the Democrats. But... what the fuck? I can't even start to take Palin seriously. She is an insult to all those with a vagina (who take said organ seriously). And the incessant winking! Anyone who even slightly sees her as an alternative to Hillary Clinton is an idiot - plain and simple. She refuses to use specifics in her arguments, and just uses buzz words constantly. She's like a walking, talking marketing device. She was also too much of a pussy to mention her ACTUAL feelings on civil rights for homosexuals. I'm just hurt as a woman right now...
Labels: Palin is an idiot
I am having an emergency! I need a Waloli/Wa-Lolita costume for Halloween!! But I suck at sewing... and Steve's too busy... and they're SO expensive!!
They put a cubs hat on the Picasso statue at Daley Plaza....
Well, I had my meeting with a surgeon today about the 'lymph node'. He examined it thoroughly (which hurt) and then decided it was a bit high to be lymph node. He is pretty sure it's a cyst. My mom then mentioned the lymphoma in my family, and then he proceeded to feel up all the lymph nodes in my body (even the groin! Exciting!).
Today in Buddhist Art and Architecture we started watching Asoka which is a fantastic Bollywood film. Needless to say, I am thoroughly enjoying it. I also learned that Urdu and Hindi are basically the same language, because I recognized and understood a few words here and there thanks to my brown friend Adil.
So, I went home last night to celebrate my mom's birthday and it was pretty fun. Except, my mom decided to insult my religious beliefs/lack there of. But I forgave her, because that's what Jesus would do.
I have a strange amount of free time today... I should have known I would have time today because I really don't have any class work due tomorrow... I just had sooo much due today! I was working on a summary of Plato/Aristotle/Medieval philosopher mumbo-jumbo for my Art Theory class.
I'm very much considering getting a tattoo this February for my birthday... I know, I know... it's permanent, unprofessional, and sometimes tacky, but I have an incredibly strong desire to ornament my body and most piercing look silly on me because i have a small face. Thought about the nose ring thing for a while... But, I don't know.
I finally bought an Xbox 360 yesterday. I was going to wait a while and just buy it with my paychecks... but I have nothing to really do this long weekend, so I figured I would just dip into my loan. It'll all be replaced within a month anyways.... It'll take that long because Derek (my boyfriend) and I decided on getting an elite. Partly for the storage space, and partly because it is black, and black is much, much cooler.
Besides money worries, I am plagued slightly by time worries. Here is the math of my 5-day week*:
Labels: I have no time.
Well, the school year has started... and I'm working... and I begin tutoring next week. I actually already have a student lined up. I hope I don't disappoint. I've been studying twice as hard as usual.
If you haven't seen this week's Project Runway, do not read any further!
I'm usually kind of chipper, but lately I feel fully and completely content. Now, maybe for a normal person this would be natural? I don't know. I'm not used to that smile-y feeling. I feel almost like a different person.
My friend Adil started keeping a blog... I thought it might be a neat idea. This way I get to type my day up once, and not have to annoy everyone by telling them all several times - as I often forget who I've gabbed to.