Description
More than 200 years ago, a Buddhist abbot (head monk) or lama sealed dozens of tightly rolled scrolls with sacred texts within this hollow sculpture. The offering of these texts was part of a multi-step ritual to consecrate the sculpture so that the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the Lord of Compassion, would inhabit it. Although the scrolls were not meant to be visible, paper inscribed with black and red ink can be seen through small holes at the back of the base.
Avalokiteshvara is portrayed with eight arms, representing the eight directions, and eleven heads, which also signify the eight directions as well as the three vertical divisions of top, middle, and bottom. The heads are arranged in a pyramid with three rows, ten of the heads peaceful and one ferocious representing Avalokiteshvara’s angry form, which is capped by the peaceful Buddha head of Amitabha.
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