This dissertation focuses on the actors and agencies in the transnational Buddhist networks that were involved in the making of Buddhism in Indonesia from 1900 to 1959. Using the framework of... Show moreThis dissertation focuses on the actors and agencies in the transnational Buddhist networks that were involved in the making of Buddhism in Indonesia from 1900 to 1959. Using the framework of transnational networks, this dissertation endeavours to understand how Buddhism gradually secured a place in Indonesian society. By viewing the late-colonial and early post-colonial period as a continuum in which Buddhism continued to take root, it connects developments that have thus far been treated as separated by the demarcation line of Indonesian independence.Furthermore it argues that modern Buddhism in the Indonesian archipelago developed as a result of global and regional religious transformations. Particularly important was the spread of Theravada Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. Especially, the dissertation investigates the dominant roles of lay people, Buddhist missionaries and intellectuals who were living in and travelling to colonial Indonesia. The Peranakan Chinese were the primary local actors in this process because of their pivotal role in the making of modern Buddhism from the beginning of the period under consideration until the post- independence years. The Peranakan Chinese community can be seen as a “place” where people from various backgrounds articulated their ideas about Buddhism and interacted with others. Show less
Java was once the origin of extraordinary Buddhist art, including a great number of Avalokiteśvara images, in stone, bronze and other metals. These representations of the Bodhisattva date from... Show moreJava was once the origin of extraordinary Buddhist art, including a great number of Avalokiteśvara images, in stone, bronze and other metals. These representations of the Bodhisattva date from between the seventh and the thirteenth century CE. They form the subject of this thesis. The earliest Avalokiteśvara images show him in his ascetic form, but over time he takes on a princely form with jewellery and a sacred thread. The majority of the Avalokiteśvara images were produced during the Central Javanese period and examples in stone can be found at Borobudur, Candi Mendut and the Plaosan Lor complex. The Javanese developed their own artistic language to depict Avalokiteśvara which we see in the style and combination of iconographic features. A few of the Javanese iconographic choices for Avalokiteśvara were local and not adopted in the rest of Insular Southeast Asia. The final depictions of Avalokiteśvara show him in a specific iconographic form, Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara. These images are linked to Candi Jago, near Malang in East Java. This thesis is an iconographic study and traces the development of Avalokiteśvara imagery in Java through time and in connection with developments elsewhere. Show less
