The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Dispensing Boons: Folio from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Manuscript
Not on view
Lavishly illustrated Perfection of Wisdom texts are understood to contain the totality of Buddhist ideology. Often they were not read but instead were placed on altars so they could be venerated almost like images. This well-preserved Indian palm-leaf manuscript probably made its way to Tibet, where it survived in the cold, dry climate. A key aspect of Avalokiteshvara is that he is always available to his devotees. Here, he interacts with his ecstatic followers. Behind him, a red protector holds an umbrella to shelter and honor this bodhisattva. The articulation of this exquisitely painted folio hints at the existence of large-scale, but now lost, paintings that must have been important to these north Indian Buddhist communities.
On view from September 25, 2021–February 22, 2022
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