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Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattvas are beings who are able to escape the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara) but choose to remain active in the world to help others along the path to enlightenment. Images of bodhisattvas most frequently show these beings sumptuously adorned. They wear crowns or other headdresses, armbands, and necklaces and often feature the tall, matted coiffure of an ascetic. Bodhisattvas appealed to and were worshipped along with the Buddha all over South and Southeast Asia.
Bodhisattvas are generally identified by the objects they hold, called attributes, or by a small image in their headdresses. The most popular bodhisattva in the Buddhist pantheon is Avalokiteshvara, often identifiable by the small, seated buddha in his crown. This bodhisattva is the personification of universal compassion and is invoked to help those in need and is especially revered by travelers. Asian craftsmen produced more images of Avalokiteshvara than any other bodhisattva and he appears in numerous forms, several of which appear in this exhibition.
Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, is also a frequently depicted bodhisattva. Destined to become the next mortal buddha after Shakyamuni, unlike other bodhisattvas, he is often depicted as a buddha. Maitreya’s identifying attribute is a small tower-shaped reliquary (stupa) in his headdress. Another popular bodhisattva is Manjushri, the embodiment of the transcendental wisdom and knowledge that are required to attain enlightenment. His principal attributes are a sword, with which he destroys ignorance, and a book, symbolizing his knowledge and profound insight.
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the Form of Khasarpana Lokeshvara This stone image of the “Sky-Gliding” (Khasarpana) form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara once decorated an architectural niche. He demonstrates his compassion for all living beings by holding his right hand in the gift-bestowal gesture (varada mudra) above a “hungry ghost,” who kneels beneath him on the far left of the pedestal. Avalokiteshvara feeds this hungry ghost, who is missing his head, with drops of nectar that flow from his fingers. |
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara The voluptuous form and S-shaped curve of this Avalokiteshvara are comparable to features found in Buddhist sculpture created in peninsular Thailand when it was controlled by the maritime empire of Shrivijaya, suggesting close Southeast Asian interactions. The image’s small size suggests that it was intended for personal devotion. |
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara The use of inlays spread from Nepal to Tibet, and such decorative inlays are among the most distinctive features of Himalayan sculpture. This Avalokiteshvara is one of the earliest extant examples showing the use of semiprecious stone inlays to decorate a sculpture. Although only a few stones still remain, originally all the circular depressions in the jewelry would have been filled with multicolored stones. |
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara The inscription in Tibetan around the bottom notes that this sculpture, commissioned by a Tibetan from a Nepalese artist, is a funerary image. It was created in homage to a lama, Nyari Panchen (1497–1542), after his death, in order to ensure him a good rebirth. As a result of the teacher’s great spirituality, the statue represents him as Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. |
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the form of Amoghapasha Lokeshvara This sculpture presents Avalokiteshvara in the form of “All-seeing Lord of the Infallible Noose” (Amoghapasha Lokeshvara), identified by the rope held in his bottom hand. Once ensnared in this sacred noose, the devotee must tell the truth about and to himself, an act that can sever the bonds of illusion and help a practitioner achieve enlightenment. Amoghapasha Lokeshvara is one of the guardian deities of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal and is also worshipped for day-to-day well-being. |
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Bodhisattva Maitreya This cast image of the bodhisattva Maitreya is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest sculptures from a group of bronzes unearthed in 1964 outside a ruined temple in northeastern Thailand. The scanty clothing, long matted hair, and lack of jewelry indicate that this image represents Maitreya as a bodhisattva-ascetic, a type found throughout Southeast Asia from the seventh through the ninth centuries. |
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Bodhisattva This four-armed figure represents an ascetic form of the bodhisattva Maitreya. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, ascetic bodhisattvas gained importance in Indian art and this new religious interest eventually spread along trade routes from India to Sri Lanka, Java, Thailand, and Cambodia. Many trading ships either stopped at Sri Lanka on their way east or originated there, so it is not surprising that a statue similar to this one was found more than 2,000 miles away, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. |
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Ketumati Maitreya The combination of monastic robes, pendant legs, and the gesture of teaching (vitarka mudra) suggests that this sculpture represents Maitreya in his role as the earthly buddha of the next age. |
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Bodhisattva Manjushri Seated on a Lion Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, performs the gesture of turning the wheel of the law or preaching (dharmachakra mudra) and is seated in a relaxed posture (lalit asana) that is said to symbolize his activity and accessibility. He can be recognized by his lion mount and by the small book, a symbol of his wisdom that rests on the lotus above his left shoulder. The lotus next to his right shoulder, now broken off, once supported his flaming sword of knowledge. With this weapon, Manjushri fights the ignorance that prevents a devotee from reaching enlightenment. The small size of this image suggests that it was a personal object of devotion. |
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Bodhisattva Manjushri in the Form of Sita Manjughosa The two traditional objects held by Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, symbolize his character: a book, which represents Manjushri’s role as the embodiment of wisdom, and a sword, which is the weapon with which he cuts through ignorance. This Tibetan image depicting one form of Manjushri, Sita Manjughosa, however, has no sword, most likely because it was created according to specific texts taught by a Kashmiri monk named Shakya Shri (1127–1225), who was active in Tibet in the early thirteenth century. |
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White Tara The Buddhist goddess White Tara is an embodiment of infinite compassion. The eyes in the center of her forehead and the palms of each hand symbolize her vigilance on behalf of all sentient beings. |