Artwork Details

Title
Eleven-Headed Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara
Dimensions
44 3/8 × 38 7/8 in. (Estimated)
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Tibet
Classification(s)
paintings
Date
14th-15th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object number
C2006.66.178
HAR Number
190
Published references
*Rhie, Marylin M. and Robert A.F. Thurman. Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art and Wisdom of Compassion. New York: Tibet House, 1999. Cat. 155; Pp. 406-407.* Sutra of the Avalokiteshvara. (Taiwan: The Lotus's Institute of Buddhist Meditation, 2012/13).

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Storytelling

Concepts

A vehicle for the preservation and transmission of knowledge. The Buddha’s teachings were originally passed down through oral transmission and storytelling, and stories of the Buddha’s past lives are considered an important source of inspiration and guidance.

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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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Bodhisattvas

Figure Type

Beings who aspire to become fully awakened like the Buddha and are dedicated to helping others on the path to enlightenment.

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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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