Bhutan
19th century
The right hand is extended in a giving gesture.
Bhutan
19th century
The right hand is extended in a giving gesture.
This relaxed posture is commonly associated with regal leisure.
One of the main sources of suffering in the endless cycle of death and rebirth known as samsara. Buddhists regard offering protection from fear as an act of compassion or form of giving.
Buddhists believe identity is not fixed but is variable and dependent on causes and conditions. It is a temporary, transitional, and ever-changing interplay of mental and physical elements.
In Buddhism gender is considered more fluid compared to some other religions. Certain traditions emphasize the importance of all genders in achieving enlightenment. The feminine is considered an embodiment of wisdom and the masculine is an embodiment of method.
Female bodhisattvas and tantric deities embody specific enlightened qualities such as wisdom, power, and protection, and can be peaceful or wrathful in appearance.
Bhutan’s earliest Buddhist temples were built in the 7th century, around the same time Buddhism was introduced in Tibet. In the 17th century, Mongol-backed Geluk authorities drove many Kagyu teachers from Tibet to Bhutanese areas. The Drukpa Kagyu teacher Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651) unified these regions and established a system of government.
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