Exhibition Label:
"Japanese Buddhist Art," Sep-2009, Kris Ercums
Originally this painting shimmered with rich pigments and cut gold leaf, accentuating the otherworldly aspect of the deity and heightening the visual impact of the image when meditated upon by a worshipper. The
deity holds a flaming jewel in its top left hand and a flower in its top right hand. The bottom hands hold vajras, implements which represent the diamond-hard wisdom that permeates the universe. This six-armed figure seated on a lotus is believed to be an esoteric deity.
Unlike the Pure Land school that believes in salvation through a simple proclamation of faith in Amida Buddha, esoteric schools require initiation into secret rituals, chants, and meditation upon complex cosmic diagrams (mandalas). Many Esoteric deities, such as
this one, have multiple heads or arms, a result of the gradual assimilation of Hindu deities into the Buddhist pantheon. Although the specific identification of this deity has been lost, its multiple attribute-bearing arms associate it with esoteric Buddhism. An attribute is an object associated with a deity.
Exhibition Label:
“The Sacred and the Secular: Buddhist Imagery in Religious and Popular Contexts,” Oct-2005, Hillary Pedersen
This six-armed figure seated on a lotus is an Esoteric deity. Unlike the Pure Land school that teaches that a person can be saved by a simple proclamation of faith in Amida Buddha, Esoteric schools require initiation into secret rituals, chants and meditation upon complex cosmic diagrams (mandalas). Many Esoteric deities, such as this one, have multiple heads or arms, a result of the gradual assimilation of Hindu deities into the Buddhist pantheon. Although the specific identification of this deity has been lost, its multiple atrribute-bearing arms associate it with Esoteric Buddhism. An attribute is an object associated with a deity.
Originally this painting shimmered with rich pigments and cut gold leaf, accentuating the otherworldly aspect of the deity and heightening the visual impact of the image when meditated upon by a worshipper. The deity holds a flaming jewel in its top left hand and a flower in its top right hand. The bottom hands hold vajras, implements which represent the diamond-hard wisdom that permeates the universe.
Archive Label 2003:
This six-armed figure seated on a lotus is an esoteric deity. Unlike the Pure Land sect that taught that a person could be saved by a simple proclamation of faith in Amida Buddha, esoteric sects required initiation into secret rituals, chants and the meaning of complex cosmic diagrams (mandalas). Many esoteric deities, such as this one, have multiple heads or arms, a result of the gradual assimilation of Hindu deities into the Buddhist pantheon.
Originally this painting glowed with rich pigments and cut gold leaf used to describe a particular deity who was identified, in part, by the carefully depicted objects held in or displayed on each of the six hands. Today, however, that identification has been lost.
At one time, this image was tentatively identified as Vasudhara, a female goddess of abundance, who was generally portrayed, as here, holding a flaming jewel (in her top left hand) and a flower (in her top right hand). However, Vasudhara usually holds the book of the Prajnaparamita sutra or sutra of “supreme wisdom” and this deity does not. Instead there is a strong emphasis on the vajra, the thunderbolt symbol that represents the power of esoteric Buddhism. She (?) holds a vajra in both bottom hands and the bell in her middle left hand is also topped by a vajra.
Archive Label date unknown: Esoteric Buddhism made use of secret rituals, chants, and mandalas (cosmic diagrams) to educate and enlighten its followers. The multiple arms and heads of figures such as this one resulted from the gradual assimilation of Hindu deities into the Buddhist pantheon. The number of arms and heads, and the attributes held by the figure would indicate to the worshipper who the diety was and how one should meditate upon him or her. This figure probably represents Vasudhara, a feminine divinity of abundance.
