Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art (The Met)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org); Andrea K. Scott (newyorker.com, May 22, 2023); CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Wiki edit

Where did ancient Sumer (Sumeria) and the Middle East get ideas of a talking serpent?

Having left the bodhi tree, why was the Buddha covered by this shapeshifting royal serpent?

Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India at The Met

Ancient Sumerian story

Overview: This is the story of the origins of Buddhist art. The religious landscape of ancient [proto-] India was transformed by the teachings of the Buddha, which in turn inspired art devoted to expressing his message [the Dharma of Awakening].

• Fifth Avenue, Gallery 999
• Upcoming: July 21-Nov. 13, 2023
• The Met (free with museum admission)

Sublime imagery adorned the most ancient monumental religious structures in ancient India, known as stupas [Central and North Asian burial mounds].

The stupa housed the relics [sariras, unique crystallizations left in the cremation ashes of fully enlightened beings] of the Buddha and also honored him through symbolic representations and visual storytelling.

Original relics and reliquaries are at the heart of this exhibition, which culminates with the Buddha image itself.

"Dragons" are a worldwide phenomenon

Featuring more than 140 objects dating from 200 BCE to 400 CE, the exhibition presents a series of evocative and interlocking themes to reveal both the pre-Buddhist origins of figurative sculpture in [pre-] India and the early narrative traditions that were central to this formative moment in early Indian art.

Celestial avians vs terrestrial reptilians 

With major loans from a dozen lenders across [modern] India, as well as from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, it transports visitors into the world of early Buddhist imagery that gave expression to this new religion as it grew from a core set of ethical teachings into one of the world’s great religions.

Objects associated with Indo-Roman exchange reveal India’s place in early global trade.

The exhibition showcases objects in various media, including limestone sculptures, gold, silver, bronze, rock crystal, and ivory.

Highlights include spectacular sculptures from southern India — newly discovered and never before publicly exhibited masterpieces — that add to the world canon of early Buddhist art.

The exhibition is made possible by Reliance Industries Limited, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, and the Fred Eychaner Fund.

These are sariras or funerary "relics."

Major support is provided by the Estate of Brooke Astor, the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions, and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

The symposium is made possible by the Fred Eychaner Fund.

The catalogue is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Publications.

Additional support is provided by Albion Art Co., Ltd. More

• Ubiquitous Trees and Serpents: Early Buddhist Imagery of Southern India (glamatsydney.org)

Trees & Serpents at The Met

Andrea K. Scott, The New Yorker (newyorker.com)

First The New Yorker starts talking seriously about UFOs, and now it's reptilians.

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Summer Art Preview (The New Yorker)

Just as flowers take root in graveyards...Ages before the invention of mindfulness apps, Buddhism was born at the base of a tree, in northern [Bihar, in future] India, where a [former] prince sat down to meditate and — [one time by a pond during a rainstorm while meditating came] under the protection of a seven-headed snake [a shapeshifting royal naga named Mucalinda*] — [after he had already] reached enlightenment [previously under a Ficus religiosa tree at another location].

“Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE,” at The Met, revisits the first 600 years of artistic response to the tradition, through more than 125 objects, including recent finds from ancient Buddhist monastic sites. (Opens July 21.) ♦

• Although WQ commonly translates naga as "reptilian humanoids, snake, serpent, or dragon," the term is much broader and refers to any mighty creature (like nature spirits known as yakkhas, like the Iranian/Persian genies or djinn) or a magnificent tusker elephant.

Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edits

Among the notable nagas of Buddhist tradition is *King Mucalinda naga-raja ("royal-reptilian") a protector of the Buddha. In the Vinaya Sutra (I, 3), shortly after his enlightenment, the Buddha is meditating in a forest when a great storm arises.

Graciously, King Mucalinda gives shelter to the Buddha from the storm by covering the Buddha's head with [by shapeshifting into a massive cobra with] seven heads [20]. The king then takes the form of a young Brahmin and pays homage to the Buddha [20].

Why did Europeans worship dragons/nagas?

In the Tibetan/Himalayan Vajrayāna and Mahāsiddha traditions [21] nagas in their half-human form are depicted holding a nagas-jewel, kumbhas of amrita ("jugs of ambrosia"), or a terma that had been elementally encoded by adepts.

In Tibetan Buddhism, nagas are known as klu or klu-mo [sea serpents]. They are associated with water and cleanliness, as they live in oceans, rivers, lakes, and springs, and do not want their environments to be disturbed or polluted [22].

The two chief male disciples [corresponding to his two chief female monastic disciples Ven. Khema and Uppalavana] of the Buddha, Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Moggallāna are both referred to as mahā-nāga or "great nāga" [23].

Some of the most important figures in Buddhist history symbolize nagas in their names such as Dignāga, Nāgāsēna and, although other etymons are assigned to his name, Nāgārjuna. More