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Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara
(painting no. 460)
| Collection: |
Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation |
| Size: |
69x58cm (27.5x23in) |
| Paint: |
Ground Mineral Pigment, Fine Gold Line |
| Lineage: |
Nyingma, Geluk, Uncertain |
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Avalokitesvara, with ten heads and a thousand arms. There is a story that Avalokitesvara set out to liberate all the residents of hell, vowing his own destruction if he failed. After a very long time and strenuous effort, he found that Hell was as full as ever. He thought "I can't do it," and--due to his previous vow--he exploded into a thousand pieces. The Buddha of Limitless Light, Amitabha, had pity on him, and put his body back together so that he had a thousand arms and a thousand eyes, the more to see and help living beings. He also got nine heads, at the top of which Amitabha put his own head, so that the vision of unending light be his highest perspective. This Thangka includes goddesses in attendance, protectors in the fore, large piles of precious offerings, and celestial embodiments of the supporting figures, such as Padmasambhava and Amitabha at the top. CW 1/98
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Photographed Image Copyright © 1998 Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
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