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Secondary sourceBook1924

The Buddha as Guru and as King

Ernest Binfield Havell · 1924

A 1924 art history chapter examining how the Buddha was depicted, or not depicted, in early Indian art.

An art-historical study explaining why early Buddhist tradition avoided images of the Buddha and how this changed.

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About this source

What it is

This chapter, "The Buddha as Guru and as King," is from Ernest Binfield Havell's 1924 book A Handbook of Indian Art. It discusses the early history of Buddhist sculpture and the question of when and how images of the Buddha first appeared.

Why it matters

The chapter explains that early Buddhist communities avoided making images of the Buddha, much as early Muslims avoided certain kinds of imagery, because his teaching was seen as agnostic about such representation. It shows how ideas about religious art changed over time and how scholars studied the origins of Buddhist visual culture.

Look closer

  • Why might early Buddhists have avoided making images of the Buddha?
  • What comparison does the author draw with another religious tradition?
  • How does this chapter help explain why later Buddhist art looks so different from the earliest period?

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