Bodhidharma Meditating

Object Details

• Artist

  Jin Nong (1687-1763)

• Label

  Bodhidharma was a Buddhist teacher from south India who traveled to China around C.E. 500. There he founded the Chan (Zen) sect of Buddhism, which stresses silent meditation and rejects the study of texts, worship of images, and ritual performances. It is said that Bodhidharma spent nine years seated before a wall in silent meditation, a feat that provides the subject of this painting. In old age Jin Nong lived in a Buddhist monastery, so the subject of Bodhidharma may have held strong personal appeal for him.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1760s

• Name

  Jin, Nong

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Zen Buddhism, Meditation, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Bodhidharma

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings