Medicine Buddha Retinue Figures - Updated
Additional paintings and sculpture have been added to the Medicine Buddha Retinue Figure Page. The Medicine Buddha and his mandala of fifty-one deities was a very popular theme in Tibet and especially in China. Many sets were created of each of the individual figures with the paintings, or embroidered textile, created in a smaller format size and then strung together and hung from the rafters of temples. These smaller format compositions often had elaborate Chinese brocades and cloth mounts.
Included in the fifty-one figure mandala are Twelve Yaksha Generals that are commonly confused with the wealth deities Jambhala and Vaishravana because of their regal appearance, portly size, and the mongoose held in the left hand.