Guanyin on Lotus Throne Amitabha Buddha in Crown (16145PLKE) SPECIAL PRICE

Description

This Nanhai Guanyin sits on a rocky outcrop with stylized draped moss below her rounded robe.  In pensive meditation – hands in dhyana mudra with thumbs touching and covered legs in padmasana – she gazes down with half closed eyes Her finely carved face is framed with hair looped over her pendulous ears signifying her wisdom and enlightened status, braids down her shoulders and a top chignon, an elegant hair style signifying her regal status.  As a Pure Land Buddhism image, her most distinguishing feature is her elegant, scalloped crown centered by the Amitabha Buddha (also called Amitayus) of Infinite Light. The ancient Indian Buddhist Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus describes Guanyin (who at that time was called Avalokiteshvara) wearing a heavenly crown which highlights the importance of the bodhisattva crown in Pure Land Buddhism. Crowns are believed to bestow a divine and solemn quality to Guanyin images. The Amitabha image reflects the close relationship between Guanyin and Amitabha: Amitabha is Guanyin’s teacher, and she is his principal attendant. The lines surrounding the Buddha represent his radiating aura. She sits on a base of three lotuses, an open one er surrounded by two closed ones. The lotus is a Buddhist symbol of purity, strength, resilience, rebirth and enlightenment. An open lotus symbolizes Guanin’s enlightenment and a closed one the potential for sentient beings with her help to achieve this status. Amitabha created the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss called Sukhavati, a land of happiness without suffering. Upon their deaths Guanyin leads practitioners to Sukhavati where they study the Dharma with Amitabha surrounded by magnificent gardens with huge lotus flowers. As most antique wood carvings, the original bright polychrome, gilt and lacquer have faded. Parts of the front of her garment were repainted in the past, often done by monks to preserve the carving.  Although having minor losses and surface cracks, this very dense carving is in very good condition