Session 2 - October 20

[cgao]

The Buddhist Thread: The Pagoda, the Monastery and the Zen Garden

 

 

Required reading

• Between Use and Katsura: The Forgotten Traditions of Japanese Architecture, by Vinayak Bharne

 

Experiments in Materiality - Architecture in Stone, Earth and Wood 

 

 

Required reading

• Behind the Culture of Wood, by Vinayak Bharne

 

[Elizabeth Rosales]

You covered a lot of ground in 23 minutes! A point that was interesting to me was the transition to China where they began creating very large statues of Buddha. I saw many of those in China, and one of my favorites was a two-day train ride into the interior where we visited a temple and grounds. I remember wanting to build the lovely walls with circular entrance ways/gates, if I am remembering correctly. I will have to go back and check my old pictures. Sadly, I have not yet built anything. I would like to study architecture while I am a teacher and perhaps become an architect when I am done teaching. 

Balboa Park in San Diego has a Japanese garden, and they have special times of the year when they explain the tea ceremony.

[Jennifer Lee]

I found it really interesting how the stupa was changed into the pagadoda in China and then adapted in Japan.  I was curious why the overall shape changed so much much from China to Japan?  I found the building method in Japan very interesting since earthquakes are always a worry in California as well.  I thought their solution was very elegant.

[Jennifer Place]

I am very interested in learning more about possible influences on the architecture of China and Japan.  DId other cultures influence the pagoda or the temple?  For example, did I hear correctly that the curved roof might have been influenced by islands in the Pacific?  Or are they simply similar?

[Thomas Pineda]

Having been fortunate enough to visit a few of these temples and pagodas in my short time in Japan and China, I never thought of the introduction of verticality into the urban landscape. I did marvel at the engineering involved in these older structures, but there is also the sacred aspect of these sites, containing remnants of Buddha or his articles. This seems similar to medieval churches that housed vestiges or belongings of prolific saints. Also, another place that I had visited and admired were Zen gardens in Japan. Their stark design and meticulously crafted aesthetic seem like a perfect setting for meditation, especially ensconced in nature- like the example that was mentioned with Mount Hiei in the background. The anecdote was also entertaining, that a walking zen garden should be manicured in a way, by nature, so that what would naturally occur be reflected upon while enjoying the garden, versus the human impact of cleaning up or removing parts of nature from it.  Another personal connection I could relate to was the tea ceremony and especially the graphic that described each act as cleansing each of one’s senses (sight, ears, touch, etc;). While I don’t regularly have tea or partake in ceremonies, I can relate a daily ritual of making a pour over coffee similar in a sense of the different senses that become awakened in the process of boiling, grinding, pouring and ultimately tasting

[Ingrid Herskind]

I enjoyed learning about the paradigm shifts from horizontal to vertical and from city to mountain. The importance of nature in Buddhism is so interesting to see in the monateries that are built outside of the city. The talk on the monasteries being shrouded by nature made me think of my time at the Kopan Monastery outside of Kathmandu. The monastery is settled into the hillside and is not easily accessible--especially during the monsoon season. The multiple layers are carved out of the mountainside and offer many places to reflect on the wandering mind and the relationship of the structure in time and space. Knowing now about the transition from social reformer to spiritual icon, I can reflect on the symbols and built forms.

 

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[Kimberly de Berzunza]

There is a really good lesson from History Blueprint's Sites of Encounter in the Medieval World on Indian influence on art and architecture in Southeast Asia, and the Sanchi Stupa and the Borobodur Stupa are one of the examples.  I use this lesson (starts on p. 25, above link) with my 7th graders.  I am excited to have added information about the purpose of that shape as relates to Buddhism, and also to have a better explanation for the transition from "the Buddha was a man and should not be worshipped; anyone can do it with enough dedication," to being worshipped as a deity... So I LOVED the extension to pagodas, and the contrast of the vertical and the horizontal. It makes so much sense, and will be a great addition to my lessons! I'm starting to get ideas...

[Jaclyn Pop]

While reading, "Between Use and Katsura," I learned about the Ise Jingu.  At first, the thought of the Shikinen Sengu ceremony was something that I could not comprehend (I am sure I still do not fully comprehend it, of course), because it was hard to imagine putting so much effort into building something so amazing and awe-striking, just to have to rebuild it again in 20 years.  After reading further, I came to the understanding that the rebuilding of the Ise Jingu every 20 years essentially was the purpose. As far as I understood, this is where the four scales of the sengu ceremonies as well as the modokim rituals come in.  On page 7 Bharne explains, “Modokim [is], a ritual practice of invoking the presence of kami  (Gods), guided by the rhythms of day and night, sun and moon, the four seasons of  the year, and the process of  harvest. The twenty year cycle of Ise’s sengu commemorates this rhythm while its rituals physically celebrate as part of Shinto belief, various aspects of the natural geography.”  I think this goes hand in hand with the first scale of the sengu ceremonies, which is the regional geography scale – the scale that commemorates “the surrounding natural element- mountain, forest, river and agricultural field” (Bharne, p. 5). At first, learning that a grand work of architecture has been going through the cycle of being built, torn down and rebuilt every twenty years, since ~686-697 CE, did not make sense to me.  Why build something so amazing just to tear it down two decades later?  After learning about the rituals and the reasons for the building and rebuilding, I was able to comprehend it a bit more.  As I fall in the “for most” category (page 5), I have always thought the Ise Jingu was interesting because of its architecture.  Now I think it is even more interesting because of its history.  

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

This reading was challenging for me because I have little context for all the Japanese names and also for architectural terms. However, it did help that I've been to several of the temples and to Himeji castle, so with that background and the beautiful images, I was able to make sense of it.

Several points stood out to me as particularly interesting, and things I can use with 7th graders:

• The pillar as the central axis between heaven and earth and a connection to ancient tree-worship and visitations of kami spirits
• Arrival of monks and temple artisans bringing architectural purpose and design from Korea (we are always looking for connections and influences, transfer of ideas)
• Shrine of Nikko as combination of styles: Buddhist temple, Shinto shrine, Stupa tomb- so interesting! And so colorful and ornate and different from most of the rest
• Integration of climate and geography in building into hillsides, or logs contracting to allow breeze in, gardens as part of building (this from video, but also stands out at Kinkaku-ji)
• The castle as a symbol of power, tea house as a symbol of serenity- 7th graders can understand this easily
• Edo era decline of samurai class and increased wealth of merchants and commoners as relates to buildings and built environment is a great connection and point of discussion, and...
• Baths, theatres, restaurants during Edo period connects nicely with Rome
• Unique elements- use of wood, movable walls, impermanent use of space, transparency, monochromatic trend
• The repeated, systematic rebuilding of important places- this also happened all over Mesoamerica- most of the famous pyramids are now known to be multi-layered, like Russian dolls, and were built one on top of the other, generally every 52 years. This could be an interesting topic for discussion.

I'm excited to put these ideas together and think about how I can tie them in with what I teach, to make my content more interesting and appealing to 12-year-olds!

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Nice point, Jackie. I guess it's the same principle as building an ice sculpture or a sand castle or Indian rangoli designs in powder? Process? Impermanence of everything?

[Jennifer Place]

Yes, I did too.  I am also wondering if there were infuences from other cultures, directly or indirectly. 

While there, I spent quite a bit of time looking up and taking photos of these structures.  I wish our tour leader had been knowledgeable about architecture!

[Jennifer Place]

SInce reading this chapter, a section has stayed with me.  "They genuinely embrace the sentient materiality of wood... this explains the Japanese resistance to nails, so as not to hurt wood ... as well as their willful acceptance to timber's decay through natural processes." (p. 38).  

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Having grown up in Washington state, in families that built their own houses, wood construction was all I knew until I was an exchange student in Argentina in high school.  When I showed them pictures of my house, my grandparents' house, etc, everyone remarked on how "cute" or "quaint" or "picturesque" the houses built of wood were, but didn't it just mean they weren't really meant to last? After all, our "history" was fairly short, right? (Native Americans didn't count.) I had never thought about these things before.  My husband is from Mexico- same ideas.  So it is interesting to me to consider how the use of wood became the main and preferred construction material in Japan, allowing for different types of architecture that would not have been possible with stone or brick, yet still requiring a lot of maintenance and also with a tremendous environmental impact.  I am fascinated by the cantilevered roofs mimicking trees! I look forward to more discussion of these points in class.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

The idea that sticks with me is when they got to the point of covering the wood and walls with plaster and lime to protect the structures from fire. I know that this was a technique used in Europe. Exterior and interior walls would be plastered and also "whitewashed." Whitewashing was using a lime liquid like repainting perhaps once a year. A lime "whitewash" of the interior of a hospital helped to kill bacteria. You can even use a lime plaster yourself in a new construction to help prevent mold and mildew from being trapped in walls. It is not commonly done because it is expensive.

[Alison Douglas]

I found it very interesting how certain influences have changed icons of Buddhism.  The very elaborate worship centers is fascinating how they started with being the center of the city to more on remote areas like the hillsides.  You can really see the influence from other cultures such as the Greeks and Romans, especially with the Great Buddha in Japan and how it is a sculpture that is more lifelike and very large in size.  It is interesting to learn how it was once in a temple and kept getting washed away due to tsunamis that now just sits in the open air.  I hope to go and see it one day.  The second video about the materials they use and how they adapt to the environment, but how it also comes at a price was really something to think about.  On one hand they came up with such elaborate temples with the design of the bracket, but on the other they had to use trees to build those.  It's good to know that the impact to the environment was recognized and has been attempted to be resolved.

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