Narrative and Moral Authority in Asian Buddhist Art
This paper examines narrative art at major Asian Buddhist religious sites — particularly Barhut and Borobudur — through the lens of historian Hayden White's theory that the impulse to narrativize history is inseparable from a desire to impose moral authority. Analyzing carvings depicting the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, King Sibi, and everyday moral scenes such as "Care for an Invalid" and "Drunkenness," the paper argues that these artworks functioned to reinforce and export Buddhist ethical teachings across the Indian subcontinent and into Southeast Asia. The spread of Buddhism to places like Java, Indonesia is interpreted as a deliberate exercise of moral and political authority, with secular rulers leveraging proximity to the divine to enhance their own legitimacy.
- Introduction: White's Theory and Buddhist Narrative Art: White's narrativization thesis applied to Buddhist sites
- The Export of Buddhism and the Authority of Kings: Indian traders bring Buddhism; kings claim divine status
- The Bodhisattva in Art: Proximity to the Divine: Bodhisattva carvings reinforce spiritual hierarchy and blessing
- Animal Symbolism and the Equality of Life: Elephants, lotuses, and animal reverence in Buddhist iconography
- Borobudur's Moral Narratives: Virtue and Vice: Invalid and Drunkenness panels convey Buddhist ethical teaching
- Conclusion: Art as Moral Authority: Buddhism's spread confirmed White's moral authority thesis
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper anchors its analysis in a clear theoretical framework — Hayden White's argument about narrativization and moral authority — and consistently returns to it when discussing each artwork.
- It moves logically from broad historical context (the spread of Buddhism) to specific visual evidence (individual carvings), building a cumulative argument rather than treating each artwork in isolation.
- The comparative reading of "Care for an Invalid" and "Drunkenness" is particularly effective, using subtle formal details (gaze direction, body posture) to support the moral-authority thesis.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models iconographic analysis: it reads symbolic elements — lotus blossoms, elephants, tree imagery, spatial positioning of figures — as carriers of meaning that reinforce Buddhist moral teachings. This technique, grounded in art history methodology, is combined with theoretical framing to produce arguments about intent and reception rather than mere description.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by introducing White's theoretical claim and immediately tests it against a survey of artworks. It then moves through historical context (Indian trade and religious spread), specific carvings at Barhut and Borobudur, animal symbolism, and close readings of two morally contrasting panels. A brief conclusion ties the visual evidence back to the opening thesis. The structure is essentially thesis → historical context → evidence → close reading → synthesis.
Introduction: White's Theory and Buddhist Narrative Art
Whether or not one accepts Hayden White's assertion that the will to narrativize history is inseparable from a will to impose moral authority in a specific social reality, a brief survey of the artworks at several important Asian religious sites demonstrates that narrative works were indeed produced there. A further look reveals that those narrative works took as their subject matter the most significant entity in the region: the Buddha.
Moreover, the fact that the Buddha and his ideas were exported to sites beyond the Indian subcontinent — to Jakarta, Indonesia, for example — does suggest that White may be correct. By exporting the ideas attributed to the Buddha, those who commissioned the artworks may have been attempting to impose their own moral authority on a specific social reality, while simultaneously reinforcing it at home.
The Export of Buddhism and the Authority of Kings
Scholar Jean Johnson has pointed out that by the early part of the Common Era, Southeast Asia had been visited by Indian traders and the priests who accompanied them. In addition to bringing the Sanskrit language to Sumatra, Java, and other regions, these traders brought their priests with them.
The priests introduced Hinduism and Buddhism, along with the authority those religions carried — an authority that extended into secular life. One of the ideas that crossed over into secular life was the possibility of kings obtaining divine status. How does one achieve that? Much as in modern advertising, in which consumers are led to believe they can attain a desired status by drinking a certain beer or wearing a certain cosmetic, ancient leaders made sure they were seen in proximity to the source of ultimate power: a god. In this case, that was the Buddha. If the faithful saw their secular kings near the divine, the essence of that divinity would, at least in part, transfer to them.
Rather than guilt by association, this would be understood as glory by association. The carving at Barhut, "Naga King Worshipping Buddha," from the second century BCE, is one example of this dynamic in visual form.
The Bodhisattva in Art: Proximity to the Divine
A later carving from Borobudur tells the tale of King Sibi in the lower panel and makes reference to a Bodhisattva in the upper panel. A Bodhisattva is a mortal who seeks Buddhahood by practicing perfect virtue. Despite achieving this perfection, Bodhisattvas choose not to enter Nirvana — paradise — until all living things are ready to enter as well. In this carving, the Bodhisattva is attended by reverent humans who appear protective of him. He rides in a horse-drawn chariot, placing him literally and figuratively above the other figures. One attendant holds a sunshade above the old man's head. The panel very likely reinforces the idea that Bodhisattvas are worthy of deep respect, as they are leaders on the path to Nirvana and selfless holy figures who wait for the rest of humanity — and for the animal kingdom — before ascending.
King Sibi is depicted among many other humans but with no animals, even though his story centers on his heroic act of giving flesh from his own thigh to save a starving bird.
The Bodhisattva theme is also richly represented in the carving "Bodhisattva in Tusita Heaven." Here, the Bodhisattva is surrounded by an enormous entourage, all of whom are well dressed. Many hold musical instruments. The Bodhisattva himself is seated at the center, beneath a kind of temple roof supported by carved pillars, in the lotus position — a pose later associated with the Buddha himself.
The Bodhisattva wears a wise and benign expression and appears to be bestowing a blessing on those around him and on those who view the carving. Unlike the entourage figures, almost all of whom are shown in profile, the Bodhisattva faces outward, full-face, with his gaze directed slightly downward. Given the likely position of the viewer relative to the panel, he would have appeared to be looking down — a classic posture of blessing — while the viewer would have been looking upward, like a supplicant seeking grace. White's concept is borne out here not only in the art itself but also in the physical relationship between the viewer and the image. The moral authority being communicated is the instruction to seek blessings; the social reality is a visit to the religious site at Borobudur.
Johnson has argued that the Borobudur monument was a "vivid visual expression of how Salindra rulers in Java 'localized' Indian ideas in order to enhance their own position." While she does not claim to know the meaning of every symbol, she maintains that the site opens the way for speculation on how art was used at that time and place — a position that again supports White's contention.
Conclusion: Art as Moral Authority
A survey of just these few religious artworks indicates that White is, at the very least, more right than not. The export of Buddhism — first throughout India and then to the rest of Asia — did indeed carry with it a powerful message of moral authority. Whether one examines the positioning of a Bodhisattva above his supplicants, the symbolic weight of lotus blossoms and elephants, or the subtle formal contrasts between carvings of healing and carvings of excess, the same pattern emerges: narrative art at these sites was shaped by a will to communicate, reinforce, and spread a specific moral vision tied to Buddhist teaching. The artworks did not merely depict; they instructed.
Sources Cited
Johnson, Jean. "Decoding Borobudur." AskAsia. http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000070.htm. 1 June 2003.
http://www.hydonline.com/people/Kids_Corner/kingsibi.html
http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/gandhara.html
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