“The principle of corporeality” in Vajrayana artworks and its relationship with the religious and philosophical concept of “kaya” (Skr.: “body”)

Abstract

This article examines the Buddhist religious and philosophical concept of the “three bodies of the Buddha” and its impact on the semantic and iconographic aspects of Vajrayana art – the main branch of Buddhism in the territory of historical Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, as well as three Buddhist regions of Russia. It analyzes the terminological apparatus and conceptual framework of various Buddhist texts related to the phenomenon of “kaya” (Sanskrit: “body”), as well as the term “image” (Tibetan: kusuk, Sanskrit: kaya-rupa – “body-form”). In Buddhist tradition, this term refers to both the support for the body in meditation practice and the visual representation of spiritual qualities. This understanding defines the sacred status of sculpture and thangka paintings in Vajrayana Buddhist art. The article puts forward the thesis that the interconnection of the reli gious and philosophical term “kaya” with the fundamental laws of form-creation in Vajrayana art objects, combined with the specifics of their perception by Buddhist practitioners, can be under stood as the “principle of corporeality” from an art-historical perspective. In the field of art histo ry research, this principle helps to better understand the inner essence, purpose of creation, and levels of perception of Buddhist sacred art objects. It is revealed in this article through the exam ple of pictorial scrolls (thanka), sculpture, and the architectural form of the stupa.