These countries, using Buddhist culture and art to shape the image of the country, let's see which countries
Buddhism originated in ancient India (in present-day Nepal). Before modern times, the spread of Buddhism was roughly in Asia, which is why the traditional Buddhist countries were basically located in Asia. In the long period of dissemination and development, the Buddhist culture and art derived from Buddhism have been combined with the local culture of the country and region in which they are located, forming a Buddhist art with common points and at the same time with different characteristics, as well as different kinds of forms of expression. For more than two thousand years, Buddhism has left a very deep imprint on the cultures of these countries. From music to dance, from literature to ballads, to life, eating customs and daily life, likes, dislikes, taboos and other aspects, this is no exception.
In these traditional Buddhist countries, some of them regard Buddhism as the state religion, and although some countries highly respect Buddhism, they do not necessarily designate Buddhism as the state religion due to historical and ethnic reasons; Or although Buddhism is regarded as the state religion, it is not prominent in the display of the national image. For example, Thailand, a traditional Buddhist country, is particularly typical in this regard, and the main highlight is the image of the Thai royal family and the reigning monarch.
But there are also some countries that display Buddhist culture and art as the image of the country. Specifically embodied in the national emblem, currency, stamps and other national image level carriers on the Buddhist cultural elements. These countries include Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and others. Let's take a look at the Buddhist culture and art presented to the world by these countries.
1. Kingdom of Bhutan on stamps
The Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism is the state religion of Bhutan. In Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom, The influence of Buddhism can be said to be ubiquitous. In this country with a relatively backward economy but a national happiness index, it is not known whether this reference originated from the infiltration of Buddhist culture.
Before the Internet era, stamps played an irreplaceable role in displaying the image of the country and publicizing it to the outside world. Each country attaches great importance to the design and issuance of its own stamps. As far as the mainland is concerned, Buddhist elements have also appeared on stamps, such as the Longmen Grottoes and Dunhuang murals. Usually, these motifs, which contain Buddhist elements, appear in the form of places of interest and cultural heritage, and are not regarded as purely Buddhist culture. Among the stamps issued by Bhutan, there are many types that appear purely in Buddhist art, represented by the "Auspicious Eight Treasures".
In addition, in the stamps with Buddhist temples and buildings as the motif, there are even non-real Buddha images, that is, Buddha statues drawn in full accordance with Buddhist scriptures. For example, in the stamp sheetlet of Tiger's Nest Temple issued by Bhutan, three buddha statues appear, namely the four-armed Guanyin, the Lotus Master and the Buddha. In addition, Bhutan has also issued a wide variety of stamps with auspicious motifs such as the Twelve Achievements of the Buddha and the Qiangmu Dance, as well as white elephants and Manichaean vases.
It can be said that Bhutan is the country that has the most purely Buddhist culture and art as the content of the world's stamps. This Buddhist art also appeared in Bhutan's currency.
As a country with Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion, Tibetan is also a very widely used script in the Kingdom of Bhutan, often along with Buddhist motifs.
The meaning of Bhutan's national emblem is mainly the regional culture symbolized by the dragon, but in the middle of the national emblem, there is still a Buddhist auspicious pattern, and there is also a cross vajra pestle image, which is also from Tibetan Buddhism.
2. Mongolia - the flame treasure in the national emblem
The coat of arms of Mongolia can be said to be composed entirely of Buddhist elements through heteromorphic isomorphism. As a "nation on horseback", the horse image in the middle of the national emblem can be understood as a symbol of the Mongolian nation, but if combined with the tricolor flame treasure at the top, and the sun and moon treasure flame map on horseback (composed of sun, moon, and flame seedlings). The sun symbolizes the Dharma body, the moon symbolizes the body, and the treasure flame symbolizes double luck), which is basically similar to the auspicious pattern of "flame-breathing Mani" common in Tibetan Buddhism.
The lotus seat at the bottom and the prayer wheel above are indisputably one of the representative images of Buddhist culture.
3. Sri Lanka in the sun and moon double wheels
Sri Lanka's Hinayana buddhist national emblem design also contains elements of Buddhist culture. The vase carrying the ears of wheat is basically designed according to the "Eight Treasures auspicious" pattern, and the sun and moon wheels on both sides are also derived from Buddhist culture. The decorative strips surrounding the central pattern are the deformation of the petals of the lotus flower, and the prayer wheel at the top is entirely a Buddhist ritual vessel.
4. The Dynasty Pearls in the History of the Mainland
In addition to the Buddhist culture and art presented by the above countries at the level of national image, in the Mainland Qing Dynasty, there is also an object closely related to Buddhism - the Chao Zhu.
In the court drama about the Qing Dynasty, there is a detail that everyone intentionally or unintentionally ignores, that is, the beads on the bodies of large and small officials. Once the official is deposed, he will be stripped of his top and the beads removed. It can be seen that the chaozhu is also a symbol of official status, just like the flower plume worn on the top.
The chao beads are actually Buddha beads. Or rather, the Buddha beads evolved. Chao, the meaning of the upper dynasty, the word chaozhu is derived from this, there is a Qing dynasty, but all the imperial court officials, including local officials, chaozhu is an identity symbol that must be worn when wearing formal official clothes, and is a unique accessory of Qing dynasty official clothes.
Because the Qing Dynasty royal family was very committed to Tibetan Buddhism, one of the embodiments of the mandatory implementation of this belief was the chaozhu – no matter what ethnic group you are, or no matter what country you come from (for example, from the photo taken by the last emperor Johnston wearing the erpin top wearing the official uniform, you can see that he also wears the chaozhu), which was the belief that as long as you were an official in the Qing Dynasty, you must wear the beads symbolizing Buddhism.
In short, as a world religion, Buddhism has had a profound impact on the cultures of many countries and regions in its history of more than two thousand years. For many people, the influence of this Buddhist culture has long been something in the bones, and without combing through it, it is impossible to think of originating from Buddhism, such as the sayings we often say, such as "mantra" and "nothing to climb the Three Treasures Hall", which are all public cases and allusions from Buddhism. It is very useful to sort out this cultural phenomenon.
Next, please enjoy a group of Lotus Peanuts Thangka numbered 138-186524:
