This project is an interactive, digital project that presents the story of the Buddha through Tibetan mural painting, written narratives, and digital tools. You can explore his life by navigating through images, zooming into details, and seeing the connection between visual scenes and textual explanations.

Creation

• Created by Univeristy of Virgina
  • Main creator of the Buddha information
• Sponsors include:
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Wesleyan University
    • Co-creators of Buddha’s information
  • ACLS
  • Robert H. N. HO Family Foundation
  • Yale University
    • The co-writers of the project
• Took place from 2016-2018

Background

• Accessible as a web-based project
• Digitilized mural paintings linked to narrative text
  • Allows exploration through search and navigation tools
• The target audience is scholars, undergrad students, and users interested in exploring the material for educational purposes

Scope of Project

The Life of Buddha a complete narrative structure of the Buddha’s life broken into stages, with a large collection of mural images showing scenes from that life, and a zoomable interface for detailed visual analysis. Textual descriptions are linked that explain the scenes and story, and search and navigation system allows viewers to move across themes, scenes, and ideas with a presentation of murals in a larger setting

Significance to Study

• First full-scale study of Buddha in Tibetan setting
• First project to incorporate Mirador and challenge the abilities of the platform with help from Yale University
• Preserves and presents visual and narrative materials together and allows users to study how meaning is communicated through images and text simultaneously
  • Materials that are typically fixed in one place are accessible digitally

Significance to Digital Humanities

• Project demonstrates integration of multiple media types
• Uses interactive tools instead of static presentation
• Encourages non linear exploration, which is a a common DH approach