Cosmic Form of Avalokiteshvara

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Cosmic Form of Avalokiteshvara

Eastern Tibet, Kham region, 19th century
Paintings
Mineral pigments on cotton cloth
21 x 17 1/2 in. (53.3 x 44.4 cm)
Gift of Christian Humann (M.71.98.3)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

...
The cosmic form of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan: Chenrezi), has eleven heads and one thousand arms. Eight of the eleven heads represent the cardinal directions and their intermediate points, while the remaining three symbolize the zenith, nadir, and center. Nine of the heads have benign faces and are depicted in three rows, the tenth is wrathful. These ten heads represent his attainment of each of the ten Bodhisattva stages and also symbolize his watching over beings throughout the ten directions of space. The eleventh head at the top represents the Buddha Amitabha, symbolizing the universal compassion of all Buddhas. Avalokiteshvara extends a thousand helping hands towards all beings, each eye searches a different world for suffering beings in need of assistance. Floating above the clouds in the upper corners are two transcendental Buddhas. Shakyamuni with a begging bowl is in the upper left corner. Akshobhya holding a thunderbolt (vajra) is in the upper right corner. Padmasambhava, the 8th-century Indian master who established Buddhism in central Tibet, is in the lower left corner. A Tibetan stupa (chorten) is in the lower right corner. See also M.78.40, M.86.220.2, and AC1994.234.1.
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Bibliography

  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  "Cosmic Vision and Buddhist Images."  Art International vol. XXV, no. 1-2 (1982):  8-40.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  Art of Tibet.  Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  "Cosmic Vision and Buddhist Images."  Art International vol. XXV, no. 1-2 (1982):  8-40.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  Art of Tibet.  Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.
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