The Buddhas

Buddha Amitabha – Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Buddha Amitabha sculpture above from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is posed in a mediation gesture which indicates he is “looking inward” and being introspective. Amitabha was a revered celestial buddha who presided over a private paradise in the cosmos. He had many devotees who believed that it was not within their reach to be reborn as a Buddha, so the next best step was to be devoted and reborn in Amitabha’s Pure Land where enlightenment and transcendence were possible. His long earlobes are a reminder that he was once dragged down by wealth, but the earlobes are empty because he renounced that wealth. The bump at the top of his head (the ushnisha) represents a Buddha’s spiritual insight and is another of the common characteristics¹.

Bodhisattva – Cleveland Museum of Art

This 8th century sculpture from the Cleveland Museum of Art is a Bodhisattva, a buddha dedicated to the spiritual awakening of all beings. The Bodhisattva chose to remain on Earth in order to guide others to enlightenment². He is in a meditative pose with his carved tapering eyebrows, small rosebud mouth, and half open puffy eyelids conveying he is at peace. He is the only sculpture in my selection to have ornaments molded against his bare skin, but the sensuous round face, long fingers, and the third eye (or urna) are all more examples of common characteristics³.

Shakyamuni – Freer Gallery of Art

The Shakyamuni Buddha above from the Freer Gallery of Art is in the seated meditation position with natural looking shawls that fall over the left shoulder but leave the right shoulder uncovered, similar to Amitabha from the Metropolitan Museum. Buddha Shakyamuni was the founder of Buddhism and known for gathering discarded rags for clothing to avoid all forms of indulgence. The folds of his shawl are deep and realistic, and he has traces of gilding on his torso, face and arms also similar to Amitabha. His long earlobes and hands have broken off, but he still has a head bump, a third eye, and traces of golden skin, all Buddha common characteristics⁴.

Ashura – Kofukuji Temple, Nara, Japan

This hollow dry lacquer sculpture from the 8th century is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist art. This was made in the Tempyo style which was characterized by forms that flowed into one another and draped robes that integrated with the structure of the body in a naturalistic way, giving the sculpture a sense of activity⁵. The sculpture depicts Ashura, a demigod whose job it was to protect Buddha and his teachings. This sculpture also has Buddha common characteristics such as the head bump, long earlobes, slender limbs, and long fingers⁶.

1. Leidy, Denis Patry, Strahan, Donna, and Lawrence Becker, Wisdom Embodied : Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 88.
2. Leidy, Denis Patry, Strahan, Dona, and Lawrence Becker, 14.
3. Lee, “A Dry Lacquer Buddhist Image from T’ang China,” 95.
4. Leidy, “Introducing the Three Buddhas (and a Bodhisattva) – Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.”
5. Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, “Tempyō Style | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia – Credo Reference.”
6. Moran, “Ashura, a Dry-Lacquer Statue of the Nara Period,” 107–8.