The Buddha Preaches in Indra's Heaven and Descends to Earth, with Hell Below

After his enlightenment Shakyamuni Buddha ascended to preach to his mother in Indra’s Heaven, one of the many Buddhist heavens. Here we see the Buddha descending to the human world on a triple ladder. At this moment he made it possible for the inhabitants of the heavens, the earth, and the hells to hear him preach.
The upper part of this painting features the Buddha seated with offerings before him in Indra’s heavenly palace. Indra is the Hindu god of thunder and rain, and god of war who, in Buddhism, became defender of the Buddhist faith. The Buddha’s mother kneels to his left and Indra is the green figure to his right. At the center and bottom of the painting to the viewer’s left is the Bodhi tree which holds images representing important events in the life of the Buddha. The extraordinary image to the viewer’s right features white Europeans in uniforms. They are in very close proximity to the image of the deceased who must suffer in hell because of their bad deeds. Both French and British forces were present in the region when this painting was made and imperialist economic and territorial desires were palpable to the Siamese (Thais).

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Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Yoshie Shinomoto, Monkton, Maryland [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1992, by gift.