Kumbum Monastery Serdong Chenmo Shrine: Tsongkhapa

CHINA, Qinghai, Xining; Qing dynasty

Kumbum Monastery was built around a tree which marks the actual birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is believed to be a manifestation of Manjusri Bodhisattva so the enshrinement of statues of him was common.
The figure wears the yellow monastic hat of his school and gazes peacefully before him. The hands are in the Dharmacakra (Dharma wheel) mudra and from them, lotus stems blossom and wreath behind his shoulders. The lotuses support Manjusri’s attributes of a sutra and wisdom sword. The figure sits on a throne backed by a jeweled aureole that intersects with a circular nimbus. The whole composition is enclosed within the arch of a mandorla filled with the Six Dharma Symbolic Features, that include the garuda, makara, naga, young boy, animal king, and elephant king.