On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Crowned Buddha Shakyamuni
This sculpture of the historic Buddha is surrounded by scenes from his life whose locales had become important pilgrimage places in India and Nepal. Adorning the Buddha with elaborate jewelry and a crown relates to the Vajrayana conception that he was accessible and living in a celestial, crystalline realm. While touching the earth at the moment of enlightenment, according to the Yoga Tantra, the Buddha Shakyamuni was conducted to the highest heaven in his “mind-made body” (manomaya kaya), where Buddhas of the ten directions bestowed upon him the five stages of perfect enlightenment.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
