Ninh Phuc Temple Main Hall: Eleven-Headed, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara

VIETNAM, Bac Ninh, Thuan Thanh

Created in 1656, the tall composition was assembled from several separate parts. The deep lotus throne on which Avalokitesvara sits is supported on the head and arms of a naga king that holds a pearl in its mouth. Beneath the naga is a many-leveled Sumeru base. The Bodhisattva wears an elaborate headdress that in turn supports the rest of the heads in three tiers, above which is a meditating Buddha. The two principal pairs of arms are in anjali (reverence) and dhyana (meditation) mudras at the front, while a further eighteen arms forming different mudras surround the body. The rest of the arms stretch out in a circular mandorla behind the statue.