Aniconism in Buddhism- Ancient India Notes

Aniconism in Buddhism means not using the images of Buddha for representing him in the earliest Buddhist arts. The aniconic phase of Buddhist art used symbols such as Buddha’s footprint, the dharma wheel, etc to represent him. The topic “Aniconism in Buddhism” is one of the important topics in the UPSC/IAS Exam Ancient India syllabus which is discussed in this article in detail.

What exactly is Aniconism?

• Aniconism in simple terms means the prohibition of using images in some religions.
• The word aniconism is derived from the Greek word meaning "negative image".
• Throughout history, aniconism is predominantly found in Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam.
• The depiction of the monotheistic deity (God the Father, Allah, or Yahweh) is specifically prohibited or disapproved in all of these religions, and historically, sensitive issues have often arisen when it comes to material representations of historical figures like Muhammad and Gautama Buddha.

Aniconism in Buddhism

• Aniconism in Buddhism refers to the prohibition of using Budha’s images himself in human form.
• The phase where Buddhist art had no images of Buddha was called the aniconic phase of Buddhist art.
• The aniconic phase of Buddhist art lasted till the 1st century CE. This trend continued even till the 2nd century CE in the southern parts of India.
• During this phase, European and Indian scholars were shocked by the lack of anthropomorphic depictions of the historical Buddha Kyamuni in the oldest surviving Buddhist art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• It was believed that early Buddhist art either completely avoided Buddha images or preferred the use of symbols that were connected to Buddha or significant moments in the Buddha's life.
• For example, the representation of a particular tree in early stone reliefs was understood to represent the Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under the bodhi tree.
• The Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath was also frequently interpreted as a symbol in depictions of the wheel symbolizing Buddhist law.

What is the difference between Aniconism and Iconism in Buddhism?

• Aniconism and Iconism, both are terms related to the practice of using images to represent Buddha in the earliest Buddhist arts.
• Aniconism: Aniconism, as said earlier, prohibits using the images of Buddha for representing him.
• Instead, symbolic representations such as Buddha’s footprint, the dharma wheel, etc are used to represent him.
• Iconism: Iconism refers to the figurative description or anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha.
• This practice was introduced when Mahayana Buddhism started flourishing in the early centuries CE and continues even today.

Conclusion

In the later periods, both of the major schools of Buddhism (Theravada and Mahayana) made extensive use of representational art. However, Theravada temples and other sites frequently focus on a single, large sculpture of the Buddha, whereas Mahayana temples have more images of a greater variety of figures with varying degrees of spiritual significance. But some schools, like Zen Buddhism in Japan, have also demonstrated a general trend towards aniconism, even though figurative images are not explicitly banned.