Subject: Appropriation
Appropriation, Conflation & AbstractionSubjects, Topics & Types:
- Description (below)
- Appropriation
--- Meaning
--- Examples
--- Impact
--- Problem
Videos:
- Appropriation in Himalayan Art (Part 1)
- Appropriation (Part 2)
- Appropriation, Conflation & Abstraction
If you don’t know appropriations,
Then you don’t know origins.
There are actually too many examples of appropriation to make a complete list. It is far easier to make a list of those deities or sacred figures that are not borrowed from non-Buddhist religions and culture.
Firstly the principal Vedic and Hindu gods are all incorporated into Vajrayana Buddhism as themselves. Secondly, many of these gods are used as models to create the Vajrayana Buddhist examples such as Hevajra, Chakrasamvra and Mahakala. Quite a number of the borrowed gods are not changed in any significant way such as Sarasvati, Ganapati and Mahakala.
Common Examples:
- Buddha
- Sarasvati
- Ganapati
- Mahakala
- Chakrasamvara
- Hevajra
- Others...
Jeff Watt 1-2023
(The images below are only a selection of examples from the links above).
