Art of south and southeast asia

Question

In what ways is Buddhist thought related to Hindu ideas? What views do they share regarding the meaning of human existence, and how were those concepts manifested in the visual arts? 

Answer 1

Buddhism and Hinduism share a few key similarities, mostly in terms of words and core conceptual frameworks. For the best example, both Buddhists and Hindus believe in "dharma", which is the idea that each person has a role to fill in life based on a set of natural and/or universal rules governing nature, human behavior, and relationships both physical and metaphysical. The similarities splinter pretty drastically after that.

Because of this, I would focus on the concept of dharma as described above. Think about what it means to believe that there is a reason for everything - not necessarily a divine plan, but more a set of natural and inevitable rules that create and inherently ARE cause and effect. How would that change the way a person views their life and the lives of other creatures?

In terms of the visual arts, it would be helpful to know which time period your instructor is referring to. Of course, the visual arts in south and southeast Asia have morphed and changed drastically throughout history, so I would not even attempt to answer this question until you have that nailed down.

Once you do, however, use your thinking and responses regarding dharma to analyze the art that you see. Get creative - where can you see these ideas in this art? The great thing about art is that there are no right or wrong interpretations. Everyone will have a different interpretation of any given artwork. So go wild stretching your imagination to look for possibilities. You will absolutely find reflections of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy if you are being intentional in your experience of the art.