Buddha Shakyamuni

18"x23" Enlargement:

(At 72dpi this enlargement is only one tenth of the resolution of the print on paper. Added to that, it's a compressed jpeg, so the resulting image on the screen only hints at the clarity and detail of the print.)

Buddha Shakyamuni: Painted in Gold

Gazing forward with a contented smile, the blue-black hair is piled on the crown of the head topped with a gold-like ornament. The earlobes are long and pierced - a sign of royal upbringing. A dot representing a curled hair adorns the forehead between the eyebrows and the neck is marked with three horizontal lines. The right arm is extended across the knee with the fingertips of the hand touching the ground in the mudra (gesture) of Earth Witness - calling the personified 'Goddess of the Earth' to confirm the moment of the Buddha's enlightenment. The left hand held in the lap in the mudra of meditation supports a begging bowl - a gift of the Kings of the Four Directions seated in the foreground. The two legs are folded with the right over left in the posture of vajrasana - representing stability. Without adornments and in the appearance of a monk (Tib.: ge long, Sanskrit: bhikshu) he wears the stylized patched robes assembled from strips of unwanted and discarded cloth, dyed to a uniform color with freely obtained pigments. Above a multi-colored lotus blossom, he is seated surrounded by a radiant nimbus and opaque areola of radiant light, encircled by green leafy vines, buds and pink flower blossoms.

At the right and left are standing monk attendants Shariputra and Maudgalyayana with shaved heads wearing patched upper robes and lower garments. Held in the right hand of each is a traditional monk's walking staff, a khakkhara, jingling with loose metal rings alarming to predatory animals. The left hands hold a begging bowl. With the feet bared atop a lotus cushion they are framed by an areola of opaque light.

In the foreground, precious wishing jewels are arranged as an offering to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha represented by the three - Shakyamuni, the effulgence of radiant light and the attendant monks.

Notes by Bhikshu Karma Tinley, who gratefully acknowledges the Himalayan Art Library.