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Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva

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Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva

CHINA, Tibet, Gyantse

Akasagarbha, the Bodhisattva of boundless space, is one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas particularly associated with wisdom. The figure sits in the lotus position with the head inclined to one side. The topknot rises above a five-leaf crown decorated with numerous gems. The green body, adorned with earrings and necklaces, contrasts strongly with the red stole that haphazardly drapes about the shoulders. The right hand is in vitarka (teaching) mudra while the left hand balances a bell. A lotus with a long stalk extends up the side of one arm and blossoms next to the figure’s head. The nimbus and aureole has stylized gold flames blazing outward.

For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, page 795.

Cite this article:

Hsingyun, et al. "Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, vol. 12, 2016, pp. 795.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, 12:795.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr (Vol. 12, pp. 795).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr},
pages = 795,
title = {{Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa Pure Land Shrine: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva}},
volume = 12,
year = {2016}}


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