Foreword
前言
In collaboration with local collectors, the University Museum and Art Gallery of
the University of Hong Kong presents Eternal Transience, Enlightened Wisdom: Masterpieces of Buddhist Art, an exhibition comprising of artworks from Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan and Mongolia. Dating from the 6th–19th century, the exhibition is composed primarily of bronze statues and thangkas of deities and gurus in Tibetan Buddhism.
As a form of religious art, the depicted hand gestures and weapons can be understood iconographically as symbols of wisdom and compassion that hold the power to enlighten all sentient beings. From an art historical perspective, these Himalayan masterpieces reflect an array of aesthetic and artistic traditions from neighbouring regions across the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
As part of Buddhism’s eternal journey from India to the Himalayas, China and
Japan, the religious icons and objects of daily religious practice remain a testament
to the shifting cultures that have engaged with Buddhism over the millennia. Acknowledging such a state of transience through the current exhibition highlights the enlightened wisdom of the Buddha; the ability to behold the true nature of the world.
香港大學美術博物館與本地收藏家聯袂呈獻 「如來一相:佛教藝術藏珍」,展出藏傳佛教藝術品逾三十件。展品源自7至18世紀西藏、尼泊爾、巴基斯坦,甚至遠及蒙古,主要為銅像及唐卡。
宗教藝術本具象徵意義,以圖像學理解,如造像的手印、所持的法器,在藏傳佛教的語境,正展示諸佛菩薩的悲智雙運,以大威神力,度有情眾生。而從藝術史分析,藏傳佛教興於喜馬拉雅山脈一帶,山脈綿亙萬里,接壤印度次大陸和中亞諸邦,交流頻繁,其藝術風格先後 承襲了各時期、地區的美學、工藝傳統。
是次展覽題為「如來一相」。「如來」為佛陀十大名號之一,他滅度後,佛法從印度傳至喜馬拉雅山脈,藏傳教派漸成,及後傳至漢土、東洋。當中歷經王朝更迭,寺廟興衰,僧眾流 徙,用以傳法的圖像、器物也隨時地流變。如是觀之,藏傳佛教藝術形相無定,如《金剛經》云:「凡所有相皆是虛妄,若見諸相非相,即見如來。」菩提一相恆無相,了知性空,乃悟佛法。而佛法是諸物所依所示,不異於種種變化,流傳不絕,正是《金剛經》所解:「如來者,無所從來,亦無所去。」
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