Violence and Serenity: Late Buddhist Sculpture from Indonesia

According to Yijing, the Buddhism of the islands of the “Southern Sea” was
predominantly of the Theravāda Mulāsarvāstivādin sect, although in Malāyu
“there are a few who belong to the Mahāyāna.”8 Of the five most distinguished
Buddhist teachers known to Yijing, one, by the name of Sākyakīrti, resided
in Śrīvijaya.9
Yijing’s memoirs also indicate the important place of images in Buddhist
rituals. In particular he describes the celebration of a “fast-day,” in which the
image of a Buddha is paraded, bathed, and anointed and offered incense, flowers,
and music. After the bathing of the image, people gather with offerings
of “toilet articles, mirrors, mirror-cases,” which are presented in order to gain
merit. The priests read a short sutra before the Buddha; then they “sometimes
consecrate idols (lit. bless idols), and mark the eyeballs of them, in order to
obtain the best reward of happiness.”10
The development of Buddhism that took place in Indonesia between the
visits of the pilgrims Faxian and Yijing can be attributed in part to efforts
of Indian monks, such as Kaśmiri Gun ˙ avarman. This former prince sailed
to Java from Sri Lanka, before continuing on to China.11 Some scholars believe
that Gun ˙ avarman was responsible for the conversion of a king and queen
mother of a kingdom in Java in the early fifth century. Another famous monk,
Dharmapāla of Kañcīpuram in South India, is also thought to have traveled
to Sumatra to proselytize in the early seventh century.12 As the head of the
university at Nālandā, he would have been well versed in developments in
esoteric Buddhism.
Inscriptions of Śrīvijaya
Not only Chinese sources, but also the earliest dated Malay records indicate
a significant role for Buddhism in Śrīvijaya. These inscriptions are written in
a combination of Old Malay and Sanskrit, and bear dates from 682 to 686
CE.13 Eight major inscriptions and a number of fragmentary ones have been
found in South Sumatra: four in the environs of present-day Palembang and
four others at sites several hundred kilometers away, at what must have been
the peripheries of the kingdom.14 E. Edwards McKinnon suggests that these
sites may have been “focal points in their respective localities,” where “people
from the surrounding areas could be assembled to swear allegiance to their
overlords.”15 The inscriptions from outlying regions appear to be copies of the
inscriptions found near Palembang.
The inscriptions can be divided into three types, each with a different
focus. The first example seems to involve the commemoration of the pro-
16 | chapter one