Carlotta - the museum database

U01 :: Kunskap och okunnighet

Object description

Sven Hedin kom tidigt i sin karriär i kontakt med den nordliga, tibetanska buddhismen, för vilken han uppenbarligen hyste sympatier. Under hans sista stora expedition 1927-35 hade han flera medarbetare som fick ägna sig åt att studera och dokumentera buddhismens materiella kultur. Ett sammanhållande projekt var att skaffa ett par kopior av tempel, fullt utrusta dem och visa upp dem för den västerländska publiken. Det ledde till en omfattande insamling av buddhistiska föremål.

En grundläggande tanke i buddhismen är att det lidande vi upplever beror på okunnighet, bristen på kunskap och insikt. Bodhisattvan Manjushri bär kunskapen i form av en bok, som kan ses ovanpå lotusstjälken på hans vänstra sida. I sin högra hand svingar han ett svärd med vilket okunnighet bekämpas. Buddhas ord, en sutra översatt till tibetanska, ligger bredvid honom, i vilken vishetens fulländning prisas. Tibetanska, liksom mongoliska böcker var traditionellt tryckta med handskurna träblock.

Data elements
References (19)

Monterdel

U01

Magasinet - id

U01

Titel

Kunskap och okunnighet

Titel, engelska

Knowledge and Ignorance

Beskrivning

Beskrivning - engelska

Early in his career, Sven Hedin came into contact with the northern, Tibetan Buddhism, with which he obviously sympathised. During his last large expedition of 1927-35, he had several colleagues who were able to devote themselves to studying and documenting Buddhism's material culture. A shared project was to obtain two or three copies of the temple, fully furnish them, and display them for a Western audience. This led to an extensive collection of Buddhist artefacts.

A fundamental idea in Buddhism is that the suffering we experience is due to ignorance, lack of knowledge and understanding. The Bodhisattva Manjushri carries knowledge in the form of a book, which can be seen above the lotus stalk on his left side. In his right hand, he wields a sword with which ignorance is fought. The Buddha's words lie beside him, a sutra translated into Tibetan, in which the perfection of wisdom is praised. Tibetan, and also Mongolian, books were traditionally printed with hand-carved wood-blocks.

Belongs to Del av utställning

Magasinet - U :: En insamling - ett lagarbete

Important to know about the information in the online collection database

Users of the database are warned that some records may include language or terminology dating from the 19th and 20th centuries which depicted people in ways that are obsolete and/or offensive. We are conscious that the inclusion of such terminology is problematic. As an institution, we have chosen to include this historic information in our database because it is part of the documentation for the object, photograph, or archival item. Where known, objects associated with, or photographs depicting, ritual or ceremonial activity have been hidden in the publicly accessible database as there may be restrictions relating to the age, gender, initiation and ceremonial status or clan of the person who may see them. The database may also include the names of deceased persons, which could cause sadness or distress, particularly to relatives of these people.

Click here for more information.