Artwork Details

Title
Buddha Shakyamuni
Dimensions
57 5/8 x 47 x 2 1/4 in. (146.4 x 119.4 x 5.7 cm)
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet
Classification(s)
paintings
Date
16th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Object number
F1997.1.5
HAR Number
39
Published references
* David P. Jackson. The Place of Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting. (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2012). Fig. 6.15. pp. 126-129, fn. 218.* Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A.F. Thurman. Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art and Wisdom of Compassion. (New York: Tibet House, 1999). Cat. 2; Pp.138-139.* Glenn H. Mullin, The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism. (New York: Rubin Museum of Art; Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2006). Plate 1; Pp. 56-59

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Meditation

Concepts

A contemplative practice in which a person uses concentration and visualization to achieve aims such as transforming the mind and generating feelings of compassion. Techniques include focusing on breathing or visualizing oneself as a deity.

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Interdependence

Concepts

The idea that everything is interconnected and arises from both conscious and unconscious interactions and relationships. Thus happiness and suffering are interlinked, dependent, and relative. 

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Wisdom

Concepts

The antidote to ignorance, with the highest form of wisdom being an understanding of the true nature of reality and all phenomena. In Buddhism studying the nature of interdependence and emptiness is considered an important step for attaining wisdom.

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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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