Exam 9: The Language of Faith

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Buddhism,as it spread through India and China,was not unified and developed slowly.Stupas,burial mounds that contain the ashes of the Buddha,are beehive-like mounds of earth encased by brick or stone.Derived from the prehistoric burial mound,they symbolize at once the World Mountain,the Dome of Heaven,and the hallowed Womb of the Universe.A hemisphere set atop a square base,the stupa is also the three-dimensional realization of the cosmic mandala-a diagrammatic map of the universe used as a visual aid to meditation.As Buddhist pilgrims pass through the east gate and circle the stupa clockwise,tracing the path of the sun,they make the sacred journey that awakens the mind to the rhythms of the universe.
Buddhism's prohibition of idolatry influenced art in the first centuries after the Buddha's death,during which time artists avoided portraying the Buddha in human form.Like early Christians,Buddhists adopted a variety of symbols for the Buddha,such as the fig tree under which he meditated,his footprints,elephants,and,most important,the wheel (signifying both the sun and the Wheel of the Law).Unlike Christianity,however,Buddhism (like Hinduism)regarded sexuality and spirituality as variant forms of a single,fundamental cosmic force.Hence,Buddhist art did not condemn the representation of the nude body.
As Buddhism spread,the Chinese adopted the stupa as a temple-shrine and place of private worship,transforming its moundlike base and umbrella-like structure into a pagoda,or multitiered tower with many roofs.Musically,Buddhist chant in China and Japan was performed in the monasteries.It featured the intoning of statements and responses interrupted by the sounding of percussion instruments such as bells or drums.As the chant proceeded,the pace of recitation increased,causing an overlapping of voices and instruments that produced a hypnotic web of sound.Also adopted by Buddhists worshippers was the zither,one of China's oldest and most popular instruments.