Marina Kochetkova | DailyArt Magazine | Tâm Định lược dẫn: Sức Mạnh Lòng Từ – Bồ Tát trong Mỹ Thuật | The Power of Compassion – Bodhisattvas in Art
Sen Trắng Hoa Kỳ 
Bửu Thành | Tu thư Sen Trắng lược dẫn: Các vị bồ tát nở rộ tựa những đóa hoa xinh đẹp, lan tỏa khắp muôn phương lòng từ bi, trí tuệ và niềm an vui. Bồ tát là một người đang trên con đường dẫn đến Phật quả, có tâm từ bi vì lợi ích của tất cả chúng sinh. Các vị Bồ tát hướng trái tim của mình về phía chúng ta và mong muốn chấm dứt mọi đau khổ. Bồ tát không ngừng cố gắng tìm kiếm các phương tiện để giúp đỡ người khác mà không mong cầu được đền đáp bất cứ điều gì. Hành động của họ truyền cảm hứng cho hết thẩy mọi người.
Các vị Bồ tát lập nguyện sẽ không an trú vào Phật quả cuối cùng của sự giải thoát cho đến khi trợ giúp tất cả chúng sinh hoàn toàn thực hiện được sự giải thoát này.
Một số vị bồ tát là những nhân vật thần thoại, những vị khác thị hiện nơi những con người thực tế. Họ có thể gần gũi, bình thường như hàng xóm kế bên của bạn vì ai ai cũng đều có năng lực hành động như một vị bồ tát. Đôi khi, qua cách cư xử tử tế trong cuộc sống hàng ngày, nên bất cứ ai cũng có thể đi theo con đường bồ tát.
Một khía cạnh quan trọng của việc thực hành Bồ tát đạo là luôn tỉnh thức. Bản thân nhờ luôn tỉnh thức mà một vị bồ tát có thể hành động vì lợi ích của tất cả mọi người. Trạng thái này được gọi là tâm bồ đề hay “tâm giác ngộ”. Kinh Phật đưa ra nhiều mô tả khác nhau về sự phát triển tính cách của các vị Bồ tát, từ sự thôi thúc ban đầu cho đến khi thành tựu Phật quả. Sự tỉnh thức xuất hiện trong các lời thệ nguyện của Bồ tát. Song, ngoài ra với các hành giả Đại thừa còn có những lời nguyện chung của Bồ tát, được biết đến nhiều nhất là bốn lời thệ nguyện mà ta thường đọc cuối các thời kinh tụng: “Chúng sanh vô biên thệ nguyện độ; phiền não vô tận thệ nguyện đoạn; Pháp môn vô lượng thệ nguyện học; Phật đạo vô thượng thệ nguyện thành.”
Vì tất cả chúng sinh đều có Phật tính – thể hiện trong lời thệ nguyện đầu tiên – đó là bản chất thực tế luôn hiện hữu và sẵn sàng đối với tất cả mọi người. Tuy nhiên, chúng ta bị cản trở trong việc nhận ra và tận hưởng thực tế này và thể hiện nó. Sự cản trở này xuất phát từ sự nhầm lẫn của chúng ta, sự cố chấp và đố kỵ của chúng ta. Nó bắt nguồn từ tâm lý và văn hóa phức tạp. Do đó, nhiệm vụ của chúng ta là phải buông bỏ những chấp trước chê mờ bổn tính thuần khiết vốn có và ngăn cản sự giải thoát của chúng ta.
Lời thệ nguyện thứ hai là về việc cắt bỏ những ảo tưởng, sống đơn giản và ít nhu cầu hơn. Điều này làm tăng sự phong phú trong cuộc sống của chúng ta hơn là tích lũy của cải. Đồng thời, tìm cách loại bỏ bản thân khỏi mọi ham muốn.
Lời nguyện thứ ba, vào cửa pháp vô biên, điểm qua sự phong phú của những lời dạy về cách sống trọn vẹn nhất. Từ ngữ pháp có một số nghĩa, bao gồm bản thân “sự thật” hoặc “thực tại”. Trong ngữ cảnh Phật giáo, pháp chỉ ra những lời dạy về chân lý đó.
Những cánh cửa này là vô hạn bởi vì cơ hội tìm kiếm sự giáo thị là rất nhiều. Do đó, vị bồ tát chuyên tâm cầu học tất cả các cánh cửa dẫn đến thực tại, sử dụng bất kỳ phương tiện thiện xảo nào có thể hữu ích, phát triển các phương tiện để hành động hiệu quả. Mỗi người và mỗi hoàn cảnh chúng ta gặp phải đều có một điều gì đó để “bản lai diện mục,” nhận ra cách trở về với chính mình đầy đủ hơn.
Lời nguyện thứ tư, để thực hiện Con đường Phật đạo vô song, nhấn mạnh khía cạnh kinh nghiệm của lý tưởng Bồ tát. Những lời dạy của Bồ tát không phải là một học thuyết hay giới hạn của đức tin. Vấn đề là phải làm gì để hoàn thành tâm nguyện của Bồ tát trong hoàn cảnh của mọi chúng sinh.
Bất cứ ai cũng có thể dấn thân vào con đường bồ tát vì nó không có giới hạn. Khi có ý định thực hành Bồ tát đạo, người ta có thể gia nhập hàng ngũ Bồ tát. Chúng ta có thể học các mô hình cho phép chúng ta tìm thấy các yếu tố của bản chất khai sáng của chính chúng ta. Bằng cách tuân theo những lời dạy về lòng rộng lượng, sự kiên nhẫn, hành vi đạo đức và sự tự tại trong thiền định, chúng ta có thể mang lại lợi ích cho người khác.
Từ bi là một trạng thái của tâm, mong muốn người khác không còn đau khổ. Các vị Bồ tát có thể giúp chúng ta suy nghĩ về cách trở thành những chúng sinh từ bi hơn và đẩy lùi giới hạn của chính mình. Họ có thể nuôi dưỡng những phẩm chất này trong chúng ta khi chúng ta học tập, thực hành và noi theo chí nguyện Bồ tát. Cuối cùng, chúng ta có thể khám phá ra rằng bản thân chúng ta đã trở thành bồ tát.
Enlightening and radiant bodhisattvas are often depicted in art. With the opening of Buddhist practice to laypeople, active and compassionate bodhisattva archetypes developed in the popular imagination. However, these archetypes were not remote or passive. They had a very human feel to them. They were involved with the world, with you and me, with all beings.
The bodhisattvas blossomed like fine flowers, filling the world with kindness, compassion, wisdom, and joy. A bodhisattva is a person who is on the path to Buddhahood. They have compassionate minds for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhisattvas turn their hearts towards us and aspire to end suffering. They are constantly trying to find the means to help others. However, they do not ask for anything in return. Their actions inspire us.
The word bodhisattva comes from Sanskrit bodhi, meaning “awakening” or “enlightenment,” and sattva, meaning “sentient being”. Myth and psychology fuse in these beings and they often appear in Buddhist art. The major bodhisattvas embody various aspects of enlightened activity. Their presence points to guiding principles for a more compassionate world. Thus, they are forces for well-being in our lives.
Jataka Tales
In early Indian and later Buddhist traditions, including Theravada, a bodhisattva was primarily referred to the Buddha Shakyamuni in his former lives. The Jataka Tales portray his efforts in past lives as a bodhisattva to cultivate qualities such as morality, self-sacrifice, and wisdom, which will later define him as a Buddha. For example, one of the Jatakas tells the story of a compassionate prince, Vessantara. He gives away everything he owns, thereby displaying the virtue of perfect generosity.
In this scene, Prince Vessantara is giving his prized white elephant to a group of brahmins, protectors of sacred learning, from a neighboring kingdom. A white elephant was believed to bring rain and prosperity. Vessantara sits atop the elephant, surrounded by symbols of his royalty. He pours water into the brahmins’ hands as a sign of the gift being given.
The Leap of Faith
As a faith, Buddhism made a great leap from India through Central Asia to China. Initially, Mahayana, a branch of Buddhism, developed in Northwest India. It was an area influenced by a sequence of powers. There was also some development in South India, the region in which Nagarjuna (150–250 CE), one of the most important Buddhist philosophers, lived.
In the period between 100 and 400 CE, there was widespread commerce among several regions in Asia, including China. At that time, the Chinese had their own religious traditions. They struggled to make sense of the wide range of Buddhist teachings, sutras, diverse schools, and ritual forms. Eventually, Chinese schools of Buddhism emerged. Each school built its own system for classifying the Buddhist texts. Soon, Korea and Japan adopted Chinese teachings.
In these countries, thinkers further developed Mahayana, or “Greater Vehicle” of Buddhism. According to this system, throughout the history of the universe, many have committed themselves to become buddhas. Consequently, a broad range of potential buddhas inhabits the universe. Some of these bodhisattvas have just embarked on the path to Buddhahood, others have spent lifetimes in training and have acquired supernatural powers.
Since Mahayana promoted the universal liberation of all beings, the bodhisattva ideal was at its core. Bodhisattvas vow not to settle into the salvation of final Buddhahood until they assist all beings to fully realize this liberated experience. As a result, the imagery of a bodhisattva widely appears in Buddhist art. Many countries throughout Asia have left an artistic legacy of Mahayana. Today, this branch of Buddhism is still popular in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, and Vietnam.
The Bodhisattva Path
Bodhisattvas can be awesome in their power, radiance, and wisdom. However, they can take many appearances. Some of the bodhisattvas are mythical figures, others are based on actual persons. They can be as ordinary as your next-door neighbor. Everyone has the capacity to act as a bodhisattva. Furthermore, at times, everyone acts kindly as a bodhisattva. Anyone can take the bodhisattva path.
A key aspect of bodhisattva practice is the commitment to the way of awakening. Then, a bodhisattva carries out this commitment for the benefit of all. This state of mind and intention is known as bodhicitta or “enlightening mind”. The Buddhist scriptures give various descriptions of the bodhisattvas’ development of character, from this first impulse until the fulfillment of Buddhahood. The commitment to awakening appears in bodhisattva vows, some of which are specific. For example, one can vow to alleviate a social problem or to help in a situation of personal suffering within one’s reach.
There are also general bodhisattva vows common to all Mahayana practitioners. The best known are the four vows. In Zen monasteries, monks usually chant these vows at the end of daily services.
Living beings are infinite, I vow to free them. Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to cut through them. Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. The Buddha Way is unsurpassable, I vow to realize it.
The Buddha Nature
All beings have the buddha nature expressed in the first vow. The nature of reality is already present and always available to everyone. However, we are obstructed from realizing and enjoying this reality and then embodying it. This obstruction comes from our confusion, our grasping, and our aversion. It derives from the complex web of psychological and cultural conditioning. Therefore, our task is to let go of the attachments that block our inherent freedom and radiance.
The second vow is about cutting through delusions, living simply, and needing less. This increases the richness in our lives more than accumulating wealth. At the same time, seeking to rid ourselves of all desires, we create just another desire.
The third vow, to enter the boundless dharma gates, points at the richness of the teachings about how to live most fully. The word dharma has several meanings, which include “truth” or “reality” itself. In the Buddhist context, dharma indicates the teachings about that truth.
These gateways are boundless because the opportunities for finding teaching are numerous. Therefore, the bodhisattva studies all the gateways to reality, using whatever systems or approaches may be helpful, developing the tools to act effectively. Each person and every situation we encounter has something to teach about how to be more fully ourselves.
The fourth vow, to realize the unsurpassable Buddha Way, emphasizes the experiential side of the bodhisattva ideal. The bodhisattva teachings are not a doctrine or an object of belief. The point is to fulfill the bodhisattva intention in our own situation. For example, we may recognize our present shortcomings and lack of awareness. Nevertheless, we can forgive and dedicate ourselves to making the reality of universal awakening.
Symbols of a Bodhisattva
We may aspire to become a bodhisattva. At the same time, this enlightened being can be someone who we hope to meet or invoke. Traditionally, artists created images of a bodhisattva with symbols so that devotees can petition these figures to come and give personal aid and support. Moreover, one of the sutras promises that believers need only call out the name of Avalokiteshvara and this bodhisattva will arrive to rescue the faithful.
In art, bodhisattvas have attributes that can help us to tell them apart. For example, we can distinguish the images of a bodhisattva from those of the Buddha by what they wear. The Buddha generally appears without jewelry and with less elaborate clothing.
In contrast, artists depict bodhisattvas in luxurious clothing. These enlightened beings can wear jewelry, diadem, earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. For example, in this gilt bronze sculpture, a standing bodhisattva Vajrasattva, commonly associated with the student practitioner, wears an ornamental headdress and jewelry and holds vajras or ritual weapons in his hands.
Usually, bodhisattvas have benevolent and peaceful appearances. However, at times, they take the wrathful form, which should not be taken literally. Looking deeper, his form symbolizes spirit and energy that a bodhisattva possesses to trample negativity or cut through ignorance.
Buddhist art is full of jewels. In Buddhism, the jewel or cintamani by its luminosity signifies the Buddha and the Doctrine. Since a pearl is an emblem of purity, it stands for the truth of the Buddha and the Law. Bodhisattvas can also hold the vajra, a weapon used as a ritual object. It symbolizes both the properties of a diamond, its indestructibility, and a thunderbolt or irresistible force.
The Pure Land of Bliss
Different bodhisattvas embody sutras, schools, and branches of Buddhism. Furthermore, they have mountains or other sacred sites dedicated to their worship. They can also inhabit specific paradises, such as Sukhavati or Western Pure Land of Bliss. In this land, resides the Buddha Amitabha, one of the celestial buddhas who have always existed from the beginning of time. There, he sits on a lotus in the middle of a terraced pond, surrounded by eight great bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattvas can also ride different animals, such as lions, elephants, horses, and peacocks. They can also have hand gestures or mudras that can help us to identify these beings. Furthermore, the objects that bodhisattvas hold represent a concept. For example, a sword could imply cutting through ignorance. The wheel means the perfection of the dharma or the Buddha’s teaching.
Avalokiteshvara – the Bodhisattva of Compassion
Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva of compassion. His name can be interpreted as one “who looks in all directions” or one “who hears the world’s cries.” Although all bodhisattvas act compassionately, Avalokiteshvara is considered the embodiment of the abstract principle of compassion.
According to the Lotus Sutra, Avalokiteshvara can take any form that enables the deity to alleviate suffering. Moreover, bodhisattvas are not archetypes of men or women, but of all human beings as positive spiritual agents. Therefore, some of the major bodhisattvas are traditionally androgynous, and Avalokiteshvara can appear in both male and female forms. In China, in her female form, she is the “Goddess of Mercy” or Guanyin, while in Tibet, he is called Chenrezig. In Japan, followers know him as Kannon.
Furthermore, the bodhisattva is seated in the relaxed posture of “royal ease” or lalitasana. He wears an elaborate, flowing robe and a string of jewels. His right hand is in the gesture of offering or varadamudra. Guanyin holds one of several ribbon-like scarves, while his left hand points downward.
One-thousand armed Avalokiteshvara
Sometimes, Avalokiteshvara can have a thousand hands and eyes. The deity has this form because Avalokiteshvara had vowed to save all sentient beings. One day, looking down into hell, she saw the immense number of beings who needed to be saved. Overwhelmed by grief, her head split into eleven, and her arms broke into one thousand pieces.
However, Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, transformed the pieces into eleven heads and one thousand arms. Therefore, with her many heads, Avalokiteshvara could hear the cries of the suffering everywhere. With his many arms, she can reach out to help many beings at the same time.
Manjushri – the Bodhisattva of Wisdom
Manjushri is the bodhisattva of wisdom who explains the fundamental emptiness or true nature of all things. In Sanskrit, Manjushri means “Gentle Glory”. He is the celestial embodiment of prajna, the Buddhist value of discriminating wisdom and insight. This wisdom is necessary to break free from ignorance and reach enlightenment.
This bodhisattva often rides a lion and wields a sword, which he uses to cut through delusion. Manjushri sits at the center of Zen meditation halls, encouraging deep introspection and the awakening of insight. Although he is depicted as a young prince, he may manifest as a beggar.
In this sculpture, Manjushri appears in his two-armed form. His youth shows the freshness of growing insight on the path to enlightenment. He has a calm appearance and holds the divine attributes. Manjushri is also adorned with jewelry and has a formal posture. This bodhisattva is seated in the vajra position. His knees are firmly on the ground and the ankles crossed, the back perfectly straight, and the head titled slightly to the left.
Some Tibetan figures of Manjushri show him holding the sword in his right hand and the book in his left. The lotus blossom above the shoulder allows the deity to hold his attributes while also showing the symbolic mudra. The halo of stylized flames surrounds Manjushri’s head.
Samantabhadra – the Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue
Samantabhadra is the bodhisattva of enlightening activity in the world. He represents the Law of the Buddha. His name means “Universal Worthy,” referring to his fundamental goodness. Therefore, he is the patron and protector of the Lotus Sutra. Samantabhadra is not subject to limits of time, place, or physical conditions.
He is the unity of awareness and emptiness, the unity of appearances and emptiness, the nature of mind, natural clarity with unceasing compassion. Samantabhadra often appears in a triad with the Buddha and Manjushri. He usually rides an elephant either with three heads or with one head and six tusks. Symbolically, these six tusks represent the paramitas or six perfections. These are charity, morality, patience, diligence, contemplation, and wisdom.
Sacred Buddhist Mountains
In China, Samantabhadra is the patron deity of Mount Emei, the picturesque location in Sichuan province. It is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. The first Buddhist temple was built in this area in the first century CE. The site has seventy-six Buddhist monasteries of the Ming (1368—1644) and Qing (1644—1912) dynasties, most of them are near the mountain top.
In the painting, Buddha Vairocana is seated on a lotus-flower throne in heaven. He is the source of the entire universe. His right hand is in the teaching gesture or dharmachakramudra. On either side are Buddha Vairocana’s attendants, the bodhisattvas of wisdom and universal virtue. Manjushri rides a lion and Samantabhadra sits on a six-tusked elephant. Sometimes, artists depicted Samantabhadra with a feminine appearance. His name in Chinese is Puxian and in Japanese, Fugen.
This trinity or the Three Saints of Huayan is described in Flower Garland sutra. This group received this name because the Buddha’s enlightenment is like a floral crown. Therefore, this painting is similar to “the rain of flowers in the Buddha-land.”
Kshitigarbha – the Guardian Bodhisattva
Kshitigarbha is of lesser importance than the other bodhisattva archetypes in terms of philosophical doctrine. His name translates as “Earth Womb” or “Essence of the Earth”. He is the savior of the oppressed and the dying. Kshitigarbha has vowed not to stop his labors until he has saved the souls of all the dead condemned to hell. In China, people believe that Kshitigarbha or Dicang is the overlord of hell. He is usually invoked when someone is about to die. In Central Asia, he often appears on temple banners.
However, In Japan, Kshitigarbha or Jizo does not reign over hell. Instead, people venerate him for the mercy he shows to the departed. In particular, he displays his kindness to dead children. Therefore, Jizo is associated with ceremonies for deceased children. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards.
The Story of Jizo
The images of Jizo are often commissioned by bereaved parents in the hope of relieving their deceased children’s labors. According to the story, children who die go to the underworld as punishment for causing sorrow to their parents. Eventually, they reach Sai-no-Kawara, the riverbed of souls in purgatory.
There, they build stone towers, hoping to climb out of limbo into paradise. However, soon hell demons arrive, scatter their stones, and beat them with iron clubs. At this moment, Jizo consoles the children and hides them in the wide sleeves of his robe, thus saving them.
Even today, mourning parents cover Jizo statues in pebbles. They believe that every stone tower they make will help the soul of their dead child in performing his or her penance. Parents can also cover Jizo statues in red caps or bibs. In Japanese belief, red is the color for expelling demons and illness. This bodhisattva is also believed to aid women wishing to conceive and is the patron deity of travelers.
In the sculpture, Jizo takes the guise of a monk with a shaved head. He has an urna or dot between his eyebrows as a sign of wisdom. The bodhisattva holds a jewel or chintamani in his left hand. In his right hand, he carries a monk’s staff or khakkara with six rings that jingle to announce his arrival.
From hell to paradise, Jizo’s compassionate presence illuminates the way. He saves those who call out to him from harm. The flowing movement of the garment reflects an artistic style popular in the early Kamakura period (1185–1333). Traces of richly colored paint remain on the lower half of the sculpture, giving a glimpse of the work’s original condition.
Akashagarbha – the Bodhisattva of Space
Bodhisattva Akashagarbha is a symbol of ten paramitas or perfect virtues. His name can be translated as a “boundless space treasury” or “nucleus of space”. It implies that his wisdom is as boundless as space. He has excellent merits and wisdom, boundless and serene as the sky. This bodhisattva is associated with the element of space, as well as wisdom and knowledge similar to Manjushri. Therefore, he helps his followers to recover from errors. Akashagarbha often appears in blue, yellow, or green in colors.
In Japan, he is now mostly worshipped in Shingon esoteric Buddhism. Depicted in gold, bodhisattva Akashagarbha or Kokuzo Bosatsu sits on a lotus pedestal within a big white circle. Here, the circle symbolizes the full moon. His right hand is lowered, the palm turned outward in a gesture of fulfilling the vow of varadamudra. In his left hand, he holds a red lotus flower containing a sacred gem with flames. The bodhisattva emits radiating lines from the head and the body.
The Capital of the Kami
The mountain landscape in the lower part of the painting may represent Mount Asama. It is located in Ise, a city in Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshu. The city has a title that translates as “the Capital of the Kami”. The shrines at Ise are dismantled and rebuilt to the same specifications every twenty years.
The artist created the painting with Kokuzo Bosatsu for the initiation into the esoteric rites. This work is a type of honji suijaku, literally meaning the “home of a Shinto god”. This phrase refers to a widely accepted belief that Indian Buddhist deities choose to appear in Japan as native kami. The two entities form an indivisible whole called gongen.
For example, this painting depicts the Buddhist identity of a Shinto deity. He is often shown flanked by the two Shinto deities, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, and her brother, Susanoo, the Storm God. It feels like Kokuzo Bosatsu is looking from the space at another bodhisattva, Vajrapani, who represents the power of all the Buddhas.
Vajrapani – the Holder of the Vajra
Vajrapani is the bodhisattva and the Holder of the Vajra. The vajra symbolizes the potent indestructibility of Buddhist teachings. He stands among all the serene, meditative bodhisattvas, wreathed in flame with a fierce pose and face. In fact, he is one of the earliest bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition. He is sometimes called the wrathful bodhisattva, however he embodies forceful energy rather than anger.
The followers of tantric Buddhist practices in the Himalayan region worship Vajrapani. Although he is a bodhisattva, at the same time he is also a protector deity. In China and Japan, he is not widely venerated and only appears in the mandalas of the esoteric schools.
Bodhisattvas art: Maitreya, close-up, gilt bronze, jeweled and enamel inlays, 1500-1600, Tibet. Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, USA, photo by Daderot.
To many Buddhists, his figure signifies the removal of obstacles. Moreover, Vajrapani conquers negative forces through fierce determination, symbolized by the vajra that he holds. In early legends, he was the guardian of the nagas or serpent deities. He protected them against their enemies, the garudas, or bird-like deities.
The Story of Vajrapani
In one of the stories, the Buddhas tried to hide poison from evil demons who were going to destroy humankind. While they searched for the antidote, the Buddhas asked Vajrapani to guard the poison. Nevertheless, a demon stole the poison from him. Afterwards the gods punished Vajrapani by making him drink water contaminated with the poison, which turned him blue.
Tibetan Buddhism played a prominent role in the courts of the Yuan (1279–1638) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties in China. As a result, artists created many Tibetan style Buddhist works. Here, a Tibetan composition depicts a wrathful form of Vajrapani.
Rather than seeking to merely destroy desire and anger, tantric practices transform these obstacles into instruments of enlightenment. These methods require initiation by a guru, and if practitioners perform rituals correctly, they can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.
Wrathful Shrines
Within temples, terrifying forms of local protectors, and various buddhas occupy a separate wrathful shrine, gonkhang or “protector’s house.” The followers believe that wrathful deities reside within these images. Therefore, often only with special initiations can one access the gonkhang.
Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin – the Remover of all Obstacles
Believers invoke Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin to eliminate all the obstacles and to insure a successful meditation. In Sanskrit, the word “sarva” means “all” or “everything”, the word “nivarana” refers to hindrances or obstacles, and “vishkambhin” suggests blocking. Therefore, the full name of this bodhisattva means the “remover of all obstacles”. In Hindu mythology, there is also a remover of obstacles, and its believers widely worship Ganesh, represented with the head of an elephant.
The five mental obstacles are desire, hostility, laziness, distraction or worry, and doubts towards faith. In Buddhism, faith arises from accumulated experience and reasoning. It centers on belief in the Three Jewels. They include the Buddha, the dharma or teachings of the Buddha, and the sangha or monastic community.
His right hand is in the gesture granting the absence of fear or abhayamudra mudra. This mudra has the power of giving tranquility and the absence of fear to all beings. While removing obstacles, Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin is preparing for the arrival of Maitreya or the Future Buddha.
Maitreya – the Future Buddha
Maitreya was the disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha. Maitreya’s name comes from the Sanskrit word “maitri”, which means “loving-kindness”. The Buddha predicted that Maitreya would become the next incarnate Buddha in the distant future. He will appear in this world at a time when the teachings of the present Buddha have disappeared.
Until then, Maitreya sits in the Tushita heaven of our human realm of desire. The beings in this heaven know satisfaction in the pursuit of pleasure, having transcended insatiable desire. Moreover, they have a life span of four thousand years, each day of which is equal to four hundred years in the human world. There, Maitreya contemplates how to save all suffering beings. Many of his followers believe that it is our job to prepare the world for him.
In this sculpture, Maitreya wears the jewels and garments appropriate for his divine position. The now missing stem of a lotus was above the left shoulder of the bodhisattva. (The brackets that held the stems of the lotuses are visible on the outside of the upper arms.) One of the lotuses could support the vase of purification or kundika filled with the nectar of enlightenment that washes away defilement.
Maitreya’s other main attribute was the eight-spoke dharma wheel that symbolizes the teachings of the path to enlightenment. His right hand is in the gesture of teaching or dharmachakra mudra. He holds his left hand in the gesture of meditation or dhyana mudra showing that purification arises out of the meditative state.
Maitreya’s True Form
Meditative discipline is based upon strict ethical behavior that avoids non-virtuous actions of the body, speech, and mind. Only then the mind can settle on a virtuous object and attain a state of perfect stability and clarity, called samatha. Thus, this image of Maitreya embodies the balance, beauty, and glory of this state.
Maitreya’s third eye represents his transcended wisdom. The now missing jewel in his forehead symbolizes this virtue. Furthermore, his face reflects the profound confidence that arises from the inner calm and wisdom of the enlightened state.
Many images of this bodhisattva have large eyes. This implies that Maitreya is a transcended being who manifests in a human-like form to interact with ordinary beings who cannot perceive him in his true form. The blue hair in a large topknot signifies the cranial protuberance or ushnisha of a fully enlightened being. Bejeweled ornaments frame the head, and large earrings with jewels hang from the long earlobes.
Delicate patterns of auspicious signs and sacred motifs adorn the lower garment. These symbolize the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks, or lakshanas, of a fully enlightened being. Maitreya’s lotus throne, showing his compassionate connection with the world, was cast separately from the body and has since been lost. For the time being, Maitreya inhabits the space with great bodhisattvas who possess extraordinary skills and have immeasurable power of compassion.
Great Bodhisattvas
Although Eight Great Bodhisattvas all have the same powers, each one displays perfection in a specific area. For example, Avalokiteshvara embodies compassion, while Manjushri concentrates on wisdom. Kshitigarbha saves beings from torments and guards them.
Further, Samantabhadra represents compassion and the Law of the Buddha. Akashagarbha can help followers recover from their errors. Vajrapani, with his power and energy, tramples negativity. Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin removes obstacles. Finally, Maitreya who embraces loving-kindness is waiting to appear as the Future Buddha.
Meanwhile, anyone can embark on the bodhisattva path as it is not restrictive. When one intends to take on a bodhisattva practice, one can join the ranks of the bodhisattvas. We may learn models that allow us to find the elements of our own enlightening nature. By following teachings about generosity, patience, ethical conduct, and meditative balance, we can benefit others.
Compassion is a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It must have both wisdom and loving-kindness. All bodhisattvas practice the virtues of compassion, generosity, and wisdom. The diverse artistic representations of these enlightened beings exemplify their limitless compassion. Bodhisattvas can help us to think about how to become more compassionate beings and push our own limits. They can nourish these qualities in us as we study, practice with, or offer devotion to them. Finally, we may discover that we have become bodhisattvas by ourselves.
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Source: By DailyArt Magazine: The Power of Compassion – Bodhisattvas in Art
