Amitabha
(item no. 77)

Eastern Tibet

1700 - 1799

Karma (Kagyu) Lineage

80.01x50.17cm (31.50x19.75in)

Ground Mineral Pigment, Fine Gold Line on Cotton

Palpung / Situ Painting School

Collection of Rubin Museum of Art

(acc.# P1994.19.1)

 


Amitabha, Buddha (Tibetan: o pa me, sang gye. English: the Enlightened One of Immeasurable Light) seated in the pureland of Sukhavati. The Six Buddhas of the six realms stand at the sides and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas are slightly below, accompanied by numerous other buddhas, bodhisattvas, deities and monks.

Jeff Watt 9-2000


No. 77 Identification: Sukhavati (bde ba can), Amitabha's Buddhafield

I. Main figure a. Name: Amitabha ('od dpag med) b. Inscription i) Transliteration: 'od dpag med gi gtsos zhing khams gi lha tshogs rnams la na mo ii) Translation: "I pay Homage to Amitabha and the deities of his Pure Land" c. Descriptive or biographical notes The Dharmakaya Buddha according to the Lotus family.

II. Surrounding figures: 1) The five so called "Dhyani Buddhas", or Buddhas of the five families (buddha, vajra, ratna, padma, and karma). 2 and 3) The ten *? 4) Hayagriva (rta mgrin) 5) Vajravarahi (rdo rje phag mo) 6 and 7) The eight *? 9) Nagarjuna (klu grub) 10 and 11) Masters of the Karma Kagyu lineage 12 and 13) The munis of the six realms of samsara (ston pa rigs drug) 14) "The Ocean Like Victorious One" (rgyal ba rgya mtsho), a form of Avalokiteshvara widely practiced in the Kagyu lineage. 15) Vajrapani (phyag na rdo rje) /check on the tangka, photo not very clear. The eight Bodhisattvas: 16) Avalokiteshvara 17) Samantabhadra 18 and 19) The other six.

M Ricard 12/97

Front of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: ii) Translation: "I pay Homage to Amitabha and the deities of his Pure Land"

Wylie Transliteration of Inscription: b. Inscription i) Transliteration: 'od dpag med gi gtsos zhing khams gi lha tshogs rnams la na mo


View other items in:
Thematic Set
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery VI
Buddhist Deity: Amitabha, Nirmanakaya Buddha
Painting Style: Men-ri (New)
1700 - 1799 (18th Century) Part I
Painting Style: Eastern Tibetan



Copyright © 2008 Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation.
Photographed Image Copyright © 2004 Rubin Museum of Art