Associated Religious Tradition: Buddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE.
Origins
Geography: Tibet, China, and Mongolia
Date: 13th–20th century
Physical Properties
Material: Mixed media
Crediting Information
Collection: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Whether small domestic altars or grand temple halls, the sacred spaces of Tibetan Buddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE. are filled with images of enlightened beings and powerful deities. Sites of ritual performance and worship, such spaces present a spiritual hierarchy. Tibetan Buddhist households typically contain a shrine that is the center of private religious ritual. Ranging from a simple altar to an entire dedicated room, these spaces hold the objects, texts, and implements used in daily practice. Each morning, the shrine’s keeper chants mantras and prayers while filling seven bowls with water, lighting butter lamps, and burning incense as offerings to buddhas and teachers. Images of the Buddha[BOOD-huh]literally, “Awakened One”; a being who has awakened to the true reality of existence and is thereby liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A Buddha teaches others the path to enlightenment., one’s own teacher, the Dalai lama[LAH-muh]a Tibetan Buddhist monk., and the bodhisattva[BO-dee-SAAT-vuh]literally, “enlightenment being”; a person who, inspired by compassion, vows to become a Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings.Avalokiteshvara[aa-vuh-LO-kee-TAYSH-vuh-ruh]literally, “the Lord Who Looks Down [From on High]”; the widely worshiped bodhisattva of compassion who protects and saves all beings. are common in domestic shrines, depending on the household’s personal and sectarian affiliations.
The shrine room at the National Museum of Asian Art displays Buddhist objects in a manner that recalls the home shrines of a prominent Tibetan family circa 1900. Its more than two hundred objects were created between the thirteenth and the twentieth centuries and come from Tibet, China, and Mongolia. The arrangement reflects Tibetan Buddhist concepts and customs rather than museum conventions. Objects are placed on painted furniture, arranged among paintings and textiles, and presented without labels. The experience is multisensory: flickering lights evoke butter-lamp offerings, and the sonorous chanting of Tibetan monks fills the room. The dynamic, densely layered display restores the relationships between Buddhist figures and viewers that are typically absent within museums.
When Dr. Alice S. Kandell donated the objects to the Smithsonian in 2011, she stipulated that the objects be exhibited in a manner consistent with Buddhist principles and that didactic materials be located outside the room. Her wishes coincided with the museum’s interest in presenting Asian art in richer religious and culturally appropriate aesthetic contexts. The shrine room also appealed to contemporary visitors seeking immersive experiences and contemplative spaces.
The museum periodically redesigns the room, changing its size and shifting the placement of objects. Each time, a lama[LAH-muh]a Tibetan Buddhist monk. checks that the arrangement is culturally and religiously appropriate.
Movement across Asian regions and borders has been central to Buddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE. for more than two millennia. For centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have carried rolled-up thangkas and sacred images in portable shrines when they traveled. In the last one hundred years, American scholars and travelers, as well as Tibetan immigrants and visiting lamas, brought Buddhist objects from the Tibetan plateau to the United States.
Most art museums in the United States spotlight Tibetan objects within vitrines so that visitors can study them closely. Some museums, among them the Newark Museum and the National Museum of Asian Art, also exhibit Tibetan works in settings that approximate shrines. Tibetans in exile, Buddhists at large, and art lovers approach these shrine rooms in different ways, but there is widespread agreement that these are powerful spaces.
Enter the immersive shrine interactive at the National Museum of Asian Art. What is the mood of the room? What captured your attention? Where are the images of the Buddha[BOOD-huh]literally, “Awakened One”; a being who has awakened to the true reality of existence and is thereby liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A Buddha teaches others the path to enlightenment. located? What does this placement reveal about Buddhist hierarchies?
Select a hotspot for the object that most grabbed your attention or piqued your curiosity. How do Tibetan Buddhists engage with that type of object?
Visitors to the Tibetan Buddhist shrine at the National Museum of Asian Art hear a recording of chanting monks when they enter the dimly lit room. Information is located outside the room in a digital interactive. Look at the interactive, including the immersive shrine. What are the pros and cons of exhibiting Tibetan Buddhist objects within a shrine setting in a museum?
How does the arrangement of sculptures and paintings within the shrine room express the relative importance of the Buddha[BOOD-huh]literally, “Awakened One”; a being who has awakened to the true reality of existence and is thereby liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A Buddha teaches others the path to enlightenment.?
How might the presentation of Tibetan works in museum shrine rooms evoke different responses from practicing Buddhists versus art enthusiasts?
Diamond, Debra, ed. Paths to Perfection: Buddhist Art at the Freer|Sackler. London: Giles 2017.
Leidy, Denise Patry. The Art of Buddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE.: An Introduction to its History and Meaning. Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2009.
Lopez, Donald S., Jr. From Stone to Flesh: A Brief History of the Buddha[BOOD-huh]literally, “Awakened One”; a being who has awakened to the true reality of existence and is thereby liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A Buddha teaches others the path to enlightenment.. Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Lopez, Donald S., Jr. Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Reprinted with a new preface. Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., and Rebecca Bloom. Assembly of the Exalted: The Tibetan Shrine Room: The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Smithsonian Institution. Milan; New York: Officina Libraria; Kubaba Books, 2018.
