Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhist art of the Later spread (Tib. phyi dar) of the Dharma. Image classification proposal, part 1. Cover Image

Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhist art of the Later spread (Tib. phyi dar) of the Dharma. Image classification proposal, part 1.
Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhist art of the Later spread (Tib. phyi dar) of the Dharma. Image classification proposal, part 1.

Author(s): Joanna Grela
Subject(s): Cultural history, Visual Arts, East Asian Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, History of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Avalokiteśvara; maṇi mantrā; Three Jewels; Three Roots; Three Refuges; Tibetan art;

Summary/Abstract: According to traditional Buddhist narratives and popular beliefs, Tibetans are a people chosen by Avalokiteśvara. Therefore, his worship and multitude, as well as diversity of his images are quite common both in temples and public areas. Unlike the widespread analyses where the Bodhisattva has been treated as a peaceful tutelary deity, and classifications of its images have been based on morphological features (i.e. the number of hands, heads, etc.) or by artistic styles and techniques. This paper proposes another approach by grounding images in Tantric Buddhism models used locally. In the first part of the article, the images of Avalokiteshvara are inscribed in the body-speech-mind models as well as the external, secret and the first of the three internal aspects of the Three Refuges, also known as the Three Jewels, which covers a much wider set of iconographic material than usually considered.

  • Issue Year: 12/2020
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 27-40
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: English