Avalokiteshvara Cast Iron Statue

Avalokiteshvara Cast Iron Statue

Cast Ironwork

Avalokiteshvara is one of the most famous "bodhisattvas" or "Buddha-to-be" in Buddhism, specifically in Mahayana Buddhist legend. According to the legend, Avalokiteshvara postponed his own Buddahood until he has helped every sentient achieve freedom from suffering on this earth as well as reincarnation. While some traditions portray the bodhisattva as a male, Buddhist art typically created in or around India create Avalokiteshvara as a woman in various artistic interpretations.

Check out the High Library for more information.

• Buddha in the crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist traditions of Sri Lanka
• Personal salvation and filial piety: two precious scroll narratives of Guanyin and her acolytes

Check out the sacred text that relates to the artifact. 

Source:
Chün-fang Yü, "Avalokiteśvara: The Bodhisattva of Compassion," Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, June 08, 2017, accessed May 22, 2018. 

Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA)

Dr. William V. Puffenberger

Elizabethtown College retains all intellectual property rights to this image including, but not limited to, digital rights and any derivative works. For permission for reproduction, please contact the College’s Administrative Assistant for Humanities.

A cast iron statue of the Mahayana Buddhist Bodhisattva covered in a thin layer of weathered gold.

14.5 in x 13.5 in (36.8 cm x 34.3 cm)

Physical Object

Puffenberger #18

India