Imagine an international centre of higher learning in Asia, where the brightest minds would flock to study medicine, philosophy, logic, science, religion and arts.
Well, such an utopian institution did once exist.
For seven centuries, from 427 to 1197, Nalanda University in eastern India was the heart of Buddhist scholarship. It attracted monks and scholars from across Asia, as far west as Turkey and as distant east as Japan, from China in the north to Indonesia in the south.
On the Nalanda Trail, an exhibition at Singapore's Asian Civilisations Museum, traces the influence of Buddhism in India, China, Southeast Asia and beyond by following the paths of Chinese monks who journeyed to the university (one of them was Xuanzang, whose journey inspired classic novel Journey to the West) and Indian monks who travelled to teach the dharma in China.
There are more than 180 artefacts in this show, culled from the Singaporean museum's own collection, six museums in India, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, as well as private collections. Some of the loaned items are national treasures being shown overseas for the first time.
'This is a great chance to see the different interpretation of Buddhism in different cultures in Asia [and in one place],' says the show's curator Gauri Krishnan.
A breathtaking array of religious artworks is on display: Tang sutras and stone sculptures, silk paintings from Dunhuang, terracotta figures unearthed by British explorer Marc Aurel Stein in Taklamakan Desert, sculptures from south Asia, gold and bronze figurines from Java and Sumatra. Among the most valuable are sacred bone relics found in Uttar Pradesh - the only archaeological find that can be linked directly to the historical Buddha. The show gives a glimpse into the evolution and transformation of Buddhist art through time. In the early phase of Theravada, icons and symbols were used to depict the Buddha and his life: his footprint, a throne, Bodhi tree, stupa or three jewels. A sandstone pillar dated to the 2nd-1st century BC features a carving of an empty throne, symbolising the Buddha, and the mythical snake Naga Muchalinda, referring to his enlightenment.
