These two pieces really captured my attention. They both are results of religious influence. The first sculpture is taken from the Chinese exhibit, and is of Bodhisattva. The posture of the stature, in my opinion exhibited a transience of peace. The more we spoke about the piece the more I noticed. For instance the way that the statue is clothed is very minimal, except for the head piece there is a non-materialistic feeling emitted from the piece. The way the hands and feet are positioned emphasize inner peace. I didn’t know that flexibility played such an important role in this culture before a discussion was held in front of the piece. The second piece drew many of the same feelings from me. The second piece, is the Seated Bodhisattva Maitreya (the Buddha of the future). Even though these two sculptures are made from the same medium, you can see the differences in craftsmanship, as this piece came from modern day Afghanistan. Here we have a Buddha which, off the bat is different in gender, body shape, as well as the clothing. This form of Bodhisattva wears jewels and is adorned with necklaces and bracelets, not giving off the simple vibe which was introduced by the first statue. The hand gestures however remain the same, allowing for that inner peace to shine through. These gestures are something seen a lot also through Hinduism, so it’s important to note how cultural values travel, along with explorers.

At the Rubin Museum, separated into six parts, there are  fifty-four paintings which are used to depict the practices of the all knowing Buddha. This particular painting is number 26. It shows the four faces of Vairochana. Here he is seated on a lotus in a meditative position. Based on first glance you can see that he is ornamented in jewelry , which is contrasted by his skin tone. After reading the description of this piece, I found that the painting was done by multiple artists, however I found it to be  very fluid.  I chose this piece because it generated a sense of peacefulness and it captured my attention with the brightness that is exposed by the art.

Sara Ramlakhan, Nicole, Franklin
Chapter 15
“She then solemnly called upon the once-dragon to return from his evil ways, and promised that when his task was ended he should be given a golden body and gain illumination” (143)
After encountering monkey, the dragon eats their horse. Monkey becomes upset by these events and asks Kuan Yin why the dragon could be put there to eat his master’s horse. Monkey is told not to retaliate and wait for Kuan Yin to speak to the dragon, which is where the quote is taken from. The dragon is told to abandon his evil ways. This chapter allows us the reader to draw parallels between the illumination of Monkey, who had been wicked up until being rescued from under the rock,  and the dragon.