Behold the Buddha: Religious Meanings of Japanese Buddhist Icons by James C. Dobbins (review)

Lucidly written and aimed at a broad audience, James Dobbins's book explores the Buddhist pantheon as represented by icons, primarily those in Japan. To frame our understanding of the religious significance of each icon, Dobbins presents the story of the historical Buddha Šākyamuni: his quest for religious truth, his achievement of enlightenment, and his exercise of wisdom and compassion for the rest of his life on earth. While the story is well known, its use as a template for organizing multiple and varied Buddhist images seems to this reviewer a new and innovative approach.

In the acknowledgments, Dobbins tells us that this book was inspired by some of his students, who wanted to know more about images in their college's museum. The book is in fact suitable for undergraduates with an interest in Buddhism, premodern Japanese history, art history, or just Asia and Japan in general. Thus, it should have a wide audience, augmented by general readers who want to expand their knowledge when they too visit museums or Buddhist temples. That being said, this specialist very much enjoyed reading the book, with its clear explanations of the place of images in Japanese Buddhism and the meanings of their physical features. Dobbins never talks down to his audience, making the book a pleasure to read.

The story of Šākyamuni's quest for enlightenment is crucial to understanding the significance that Buddhist images bore for their creators and still bear for many of their viewers today. In addition, the two qualities that the historical Buddha acquired through his enlightenment, wisdom and compassion, are used to characterize the religious purpose of the images that Dobbins introduces here. One need not be a believer in Buddhism to recognize and respect that purpose.

Dobbins begins and ends the book by examining one important venue for viewing Buddhist images: museums. He compares the visibility and easy access to images in museums to the less accessible situation in temples, where images are often displayed in poor lighting and partially concealed by items such as tapestries and objects on an altar—or even totally hidden from public view. He concludes that on the whole, the religious significance of images is better displayed in temples, despite the difficulties one might have in viewing the images, yet gives museums credit for innovative displays and for recognizing that, for many visitors, an image's religious significance trumps its artistic value. Nonetheless, the book's many splendid photographs allow us to see images as objects of art as well as manifestations of religious teachings.

The theme of quest, enlightenment, and compassion in Šākyamuni's life story provides the context for explaining the symbolism and iconography of Buddhist images. Dobbins begins this process with an overall view of images: their physical characteristics, their dress, and the significance of special bodily marks that characterize those who have achieved enlightenment or Buddhahood. While modern viewers may think of images as symbolic of Buddhist truths, Dobbins points out that in premodern times, when many of the images discussed here were made, there was yet another dimension: the images were also seen as living entities. How something made of wood, metal, or stone, or painted on textile or paper, might be regarded as living is explained as a corollary of the Mahayana teaching of the identity of samsara (this world) and nirvana (enlightenment or Buddhahood). The book elucidates this basic concept clearly and succinctly.

With an eye to the nonspecialist reader, Dobbins explains the features that help us to identify a Buddha or bodhisattva: posture, bodily characteristics, dress, hand gestures (mudrā), and handheld objects. Each of these features helps us to identify the image and comprehend its significance. Drooping earlobes, for example, are symbols of achieved or imminent enlightenment, and therefore identify images as Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Buddhas are commonly shown in simple, monkish dress, while bodhisattvas are often dressed in regal attire. A seated image...