Buddhist Iconography and Iconoclasm

G’Kar: Despite my best efforts, I’ve become an icon. I didn’t understand why or how until I saw this [holding a small statue]. I realized it’s simpler to make a statue to someone who you believe embodies all your better qualities than it is to actually improve yourself.

Garibaldi: And this saves you from having to think.

Babylon 5, “Wheel of Fire”, s5:ep19

The question of Buddhist images and icons in Buddhism has many twists in turns in its long history. In early, early Buddhism, the Buddha was represented simply as a set of footprints, and Buddhist statuary did not exist until the Greek-influenced Gandharan culture centuries later. Since then, Buddhist iconography (religious images) has become very elaborate, depicting many buddhas and bodhisattvas, using a variety of gestures and symbols to convey meaning.

The central image of Kannon Bodhisattva at Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto Japan, for example, shows 1,000 arms, each holding a different item, in order to convey the myriad ways that Kannon helps living beings.

When you look at esoteric (a.k.a. Vajrayana) Buddhism, the symbols, images and statuary become even more elaborate because they are central to the teaching method. Mandala alone can be very complex and require years of study.

On the other end of the spectrum is the archetypal Zen master who smashes statues, or burns Buddhist sutras in order to teach a lesson. Zen has a reputation for iconoclasm,¹ even if that reputation is almost certainly exaggerated.

This quote from Babylon 5 gives me mixed feelings. Buddhism runs the gamut between intense usage of icons and ardent iconoclasm, so that begs the question: which approach is right? The Babylon 5 quote sounds like it favors the more Zen-like iconoclasm, and I do think there is some truth to this.

The Buddha did seem downplay the need to venerate the Buddha, and instead encouraged people to put the teachings, the Dharma, into practice. Yet he never discouraged it either. In the Maha-parinibbana Sutta in the Pali Canon is this excerpt:

And the Blessed One spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying: “Ananda, the twin sala trees are in full bloom, though it is not the season of flowering. And the blossoms rain upon the body of the Tathagata and drop and scatter and are strewn upon it in worship of the Tathagata. And celestial coral flowers and heavenly sandalwood powder from the sky rain down upon the body of the Tathagata, and drop and scatter and are strewn upon it in worship of the Tathagata. And the sound of heavenly voices and heavenly instruments makes music in the air out of reverence for the Tathagata.

“Yet it is not thus, Ananda, that the Tathagata is respected, venerated, esteemed, worshipped, and honored in the highest degree. But, Ananda, whatever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni, layman or laywoman, abides by the Dhamma, lives uprightly in the Dhamma, walks in the way of the Dhamma, it is by such a one that the Tathagata is respected, venerated, esteemed, worshipped, and honored in the highest degree. Therefore, Ananda, thus should you train yourselves: ‘We shall abide by the Dhamma, live uprightly in the Dhamma, walk in the way of the Dhamma.'”

Translation by Sister Vajira & Francis Story

No “crazy wisdom”, smashing shrines, or anything, but also no heavy reliance on veneration either. Some people will venerate the Buddha after his death, which is fine, but better still to honor the Buddha by putting the teachings into practice.

Further, in the Lotus Sutra, the capstone of the Mahayana-Buddhist tradition, the sutra emphasizes the importance of expedient means (“upaya” in Sanskrit), meaning different tools for different people at different stages of their life. Buddhism in general, and especially Mahayana Buddhism, is like a toolbox equipped with lots of tools.

So, at the beginning, it makes sense to find what resonates with you and make that a point of veneration, a sutra to recite, a practice to undergo, etc. In the Lotus Sutra, specifically chapter seven, he compares this to a “magic city”, a temporary refuge on a much longer journey:

When the leader knew they were rested, he called them together and announced, “Now you must push forward– this is nothing more than a phantom city. I saw that you were weary and exhausted and wanted to turn back in mid-journey. Therefore I used the power of expedient means to conjure up this city for the moment. Now you must press forward diligently so that together you may reach the place where the treasure is.”

Translation by Dr Burton Watson

Yet, over the years, one’s practice and one’s understanding of Buddhism might change and evolve. In such a case, the original tool, deity, whatever isn’t needed any more, like a map of Paris versus going there. You are in Paris now, and can explore and continue your adventure there.

But I think what G’Kar and Garibaldi are getting at is that some people don’t do this. They seem stuck in their ways, and always seem to want the teacher to solve the problem for them, or for their beloved Buddhist figure to embody all their needs and such. In such cases, it does become more of a hindrance than a tool, like holding onto a raft after you are done. I vaguely remember that the late Thich Nhat Hanh mentioned in one of this books (I couldn’t find the quote) that some members of his temple community never seemed to grow beyond their need of a teacher. I am sure other modern teachers can attest to this as well.

So, if something in Buddhism helps you, hold on to it and cherish it, but remember that (like the Lotus Sutra teaching) it is only a phantom and at some point you will need to let it go.

Namu Shakamuni Butsu

¹ The term iconoclasm, by the way, dates from a period in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire when a small movement in Constantinople sought to reduce reliance on religious icons, believing that such “idolatry” would invite further punishment from God.

It’s not clear if this was instituted willingly by Emperor Leo III and his son Constantine V, or a response to public sentiment, but many religious icons were taken down or destroyed at this time, though many were restored later. Byzantium experienced a few other waves of iconoclasm after this, and all of this is tangential to the Protestant tendency toward iconoclasm.