This sculptural representation of the Buddha shows him wearing a crown and monk’s robes, a convention that became known as Vajrasana Buddha. It refers to a famous image of the Buddha in Vajrasana (present-day Bodhgaya), India, that commemorated the Buddha’s enlightenment. Although in Tibet this type of Buddha’s image was also associated with the principal image at the main temple in Lhasa, images of the crowned Buddha were popular and well known in all of Asia, including the Himalayas and were among some of the earliest to come to Tibet.

Artwork Details

Title
Buddha Shakyamuni
Dimensions
17 3/4 × 15 5/8 × 10 1/2 in.
Medium
Gilt copper alloy
Origin
Tibet
Classification(s)
sculpture
Date
14th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
Object number
C2001.10.2
Bibliography
HAR Number
65025
Published references
  • Mary Jane Jacob and Martin Brauen, Grain of Emptiness: Buddhism-Inspired Contemporary Art (Rubin Museum of Art, 2010), 12-13, fig. 2.
  • Judith Simmer-Brown, "Suddenly a Flame is Lit." in Spiral Magazine: The Art of Awakening, 2021 Edition (The Rubin Museum of Art, March 2021), 6.
  • J. Van Alphen, Collection Highlights: Rubin Museum of Art, (Rubin Museum of Art, 2014), 248-249.

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Enlightenment

Concepts

A state of “waking up” from illusion and seeing the true nature of reality. Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment while meditating under the bodhi tree. Buddhist teaching explains that the accumulation of merit and wisdom are essential for achieving enlightenment, also known as awakening.

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Awakening

Concepts

A state of “waking up” from illusion and seeing the true nature of reality. Buddha Shakyamuni attained awakening while meditating under the bodhi tree. Buddhist teaching explains that the accumulation of merit and wisdom are essential for achieving awakening, also known as enlightenment.

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Compassion

Concepts

The cultivation of a strong aspiration to help sentient beings overcome suffering. In Buddhist Mahayana teaching, compassion is the seed for attaining full enlightenment.  

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Buddhas

Figure Type

An awakened being who understands the true nature of reality and is free from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. While there are many buddhas, Siddhartha Gautama is the historical Buddha, whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism.

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Tibetan Regions

Region

Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.

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