‘Sensing the Buddha’, an exhibition at the Musée de Mariemont (21 September 2024 to 20 April 2025) does not concern itself with Buddhism solely in the abstract and the formalistic. Following a zeitgeist of experiential and sensory art engagement in museum exhibitions (what curator Lyce Jankowski refers to as média sensible) ‘Sensing the Buddha’ aims to curate an atmosphere where visitors not only learn about the lived experience of Buddhists, but where they are encouraged to engage affectively with the objects around them.

The museum, situated 50 kilometers outside of Brussels, imparted upon itself a responsibility to educate the local community of the basic unifying aspects of Buddhist schools, as well as a duty to differentiate the nuances between them. The exhibit arrives at a critical time in Belgian religious history, with Buddhism only just being recognized as a religion as opposed to a ‘philosophy’ by the government in March 2023, after a decades-long battle for recognition fought by Belgium’s Buddhist community.

The exhibition sensitively navigates the diversity of Buddhist life through an impressive collection of around one hundred artifacts across the Buddhist world, from Nepal to Japan to Thailand, ranging from 2nd century CE until the beginning of the 20th century. Not wanting to rely solely upon the historicity and artistry of the artifacts to warrant engagement from visitors, Jankowski chose to curate an exhibit that would discourage a passive walkthrough of glances and quick snapshots of great Buddhist handwork. Prior to entering the core of the exhibit, the introductory panel directs visitors to a room set up with tables, benches, and origami paper. A video screen and accompanying pictorial diagrams instruct visitors on how to fold the paper into the shape of a lotus flower. Visitors were then invited to place their lotus creations in front of their favorite object.

Shakyamuni Triptych
Japan, Muromachi Period (1336-1573). 14th—15th century
Colour on silk
Samantabhadra: 189 x 72 cm; Shakyamuni: 187 x 85 cm; Majunshri: 189 x 72 cm
Musée royal de Mariemont, Morlanwelz, bequest of Raoul Warocque, 1917
Photo courtesy of the Royal Museum of Mariemont

Sure enough, upon entering the exhibit rooms, bronze, jade, and stone creations stood erect in fields of multicolored paper flowers, a touching sight and evidence of the intention with which prior exhibit attendants approached the exhibit. The exhibit followed a logical path, beginning with Shakyamuni Buddha’s life story as told through an array of artifacts, eventually moving onto the various rituals and philosophies practiced by different Buddhist schools. Most of the objects come from the museum’s permanent collection dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century, with a few thangka loans from the Léon Verbert collection of the Musée Art & Histoire.

While a rudimentary religious education appeared to be the priority, there were surprises around each corner. As philosopher Hilde Hein in her recommendation to museum directors and curators once said: ‘“Wow” is as good as “why”’. Notable moments from the exhibit included a Japanese calligraphy activity, in which visitors could approach a canvas to practice sui-bokuga or ‘water writing’. This activity, while attempting to show a common practice amongst Japanese Buddhists, also served to educate visitors on the concept of impermanence, as just moments after touching the water brush to the canvas, the creation would evaporate. In the room dedicated to Tibetan thangkas, the ambiance of the exhibit transformed into a subdued, dim-lit space with prayer flags crisscrossing the ceiling over a gilt copper Qing Dynasty (1644—1911) miniature stupa at the heart of the room. A mysterious overhead source played a recording of Tibetan chants, these thoughtful touches serving to mimic the experience of visiting a Tibetan Buddhist shrine.

Installation view
Photo courtesy of the Royal Museum of Mariemont

‘Sensing the Buddha’ is not, of course, the first multimedia and multisensory Buddhist exhibit; the now-closed Rubin Museum in New York City, for example, in its former life dedicated a floor of the museum to tactile, olfactory, auditory participatory activities to give a taste of Buddhist philosophy through the senses. The exhibit at the Musée de Mariemont, nonetheless, demonstrates an active effort in the museum field to deconstruct the typical exhibition standard and offer an experience attendees will remember. James Dobbins’ book Beholding the Buddha provides a useful postcolonial criticism of Buddhist museums who isolate the traditional experience of ‘beholding the Buddha’ from viewing the Buddha in a Western museum context. In a ritual setting, an icon of the Buddha is not just a symbol of veneration— it is a living Buddha. As institutions such as the Rubin have sought to compromise the worlds of the numinous temple and the sanitized museum by integrating aspects of the temple into the museum space, it is evident smaller museums are following suit in their examples.

The resplendence of the objects ought not to be ignored. Many of the objects on display had a certain aura about them, their essences felt more intensely thanks to the craftsmanship and historicity of the artworks. The curatorial process led to several happy accidents, including the discovery of never-before displayed artifacts deep in the museum’s archives. One such discovery, a 14th—15th century Japanese painted triptych of Shakyamuni, Samantabhadra, and Manjushri, was made by Jankowski and fellow curator Lara Bauden, who extensively researched the Japanese pieces on display. These paintings of Shakyamuni and Manjushri, initially thought to be 20th century, were discovered to be from the 14th century; this realization led to the discovery of a painting of Samantabhadra that was mistakenly inventoried deep in the museum’s archives. Though two of the paintings remain in the restoration process for the permanent collection, the Manjushri painting is displayed centrally within the temporary exhibition.

The exhibition is just as much an anthropological as it is art historical. Prerecorded interviews with monastics and scholars played on headphones in cubicles, sharing primary accounts of everyday Buddhist life and philosophies. One could hear Ann Heirman, professor of Chinese Language and Culture at the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies expound upon the plurality of Buddhist practice: “I don’t say Buddhism, I say Buddhisms.” “The boundaries of the exhibit did not end on the second floor of the Musée de Mariemont; scattered throughout the museum were “Sarana” photographs taken of various Belgian Buddhist communities engaging in everyday ritual activities. These photographs grounded the exhibit, which includes mostly pre-modern objects, in the contemporary world. Understanding the stakes of an exhibit like this, Jankowski and Bauden even looked towards local Buddhist communities for curation input, which Jankowski pointed out was a rarity in the European curatorial tradition.

With most visitors to the museum coming from the local area, Jankowski and Bauden’s priority was put into the accessibility of Buddhist education for Belgians looking for clarity on a misunderstood, yet pervasive religion. Exiting the exhibit, visitors were left with an invitation to reflect on the pervasiveness of the Buddha icon in contemporary everyday European life. No matter one’s acquaintanceship with Buddhism, ‘Sensing the Buddha’ was an experience to be enjoyed by the Buddhism-curious and seasoned practitioner alike. The exhibit leaves a lingering question—how will the contemporary popularity of Buddhism impact public and domestic life?

Tara Yazdan Panah is graduate student at Harvard Divinity School.

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