A new Buddha type appeared in Southeast Asia in the 600s, inspired by innovations in Indian workshops. This slender and serene Buddha with body-defining robes demonstrates acceptance of northern Indian ideals.

A Chinese sculptor made this image using the dry-lacquer technique, which requires covering a core (often wood) with clay and then wrapping it in layers of lacquer-soaked cloth. This Chinese-origin technique was quickly taken up by other artists in ancient East Asia.

Coming from where the Buddha lived this image has an inner radiant calm that went on to impact sculpture across Asia. The dot in his forehead marks an inward-looking eye, and the bump on top of his head is his extra brain, both signs of enlightenment.

The stylistic elements of a bare right shoulder and fabric folding in pleats across the body reached Indonesia in the form of portable bronze statues carried by traders between India and China.

This Japanese image of a Buddha is made of multiple blocks of woods carved separately, joined together, and then enshrouded in layers of lacquer and gold.

Buddhist images spread rapidly through the movement of portable icons. Small images like this bronze Buddha made in ancient Korea were among the first to be introduced to Japan.

The realism of this elongated figure is typical of regional workshops in what is now Gandhara in Pakistan. Note the naturalistic and subtle rendering of the Buddha's face, his well-proportioned body, and the sense of motion in his tilted head and bent leg.

Dipankara, who lived in a past age, was the first Buddha to reveal the dharma. The flames that surround him in this massive Chinese sculpture indicate his enlightenment.

The figure standing under Dipankara’s left arm represents a young man named Sumedha, who vowed to reach enlightenment and become a Buddha. Over countless rebirths, Sumedha strove to refine his actions and was ultimately reborn as Shakyamuni, the Buddha of our age.

The group of seven other past Buddhas in Dipankara's halo signal that he was the first in a long line of Buddhas to reveal the teachings and leave relics.

This Tibetan image from the 1200s shows him with a chest full of breath and a calm expression, suggesting inner strength and mental clarity. His yogic control and the physical perfection of his body are expressions of enlightenment. 

Many life cycles after encountering Dipankara, Sumedha was reborn as the Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived in India in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E. The figure's smooth surface, subtle hint of a smile, and downcast eyes capture the inner calm of Buddhahood and awakened bliss.

The extended earlobes, three rings on the neck, mark on the forehead, and highly pronounced bump on his head are all auspicious signs of Shakyamuni’s enlightened state and of his final rebirth as one capable of reaching Buddhahood.

Devotees worship Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, both as a bodhisattva and as a Buddha, believing that when the teachings have been completely forgotten, he will be reborn as the teaching Buddha of the next great era.

This lifelike image of Maitreya was cast in China in the 400s. He offers salvation now and in the future and holds his right hand in the gesture of approachability. It signals to devotees that they, too, have access to this enlightened being.

Unlike Shakyamuni, who is often depicted sitting or standing on a simple throne, Maitreya stands on a lotus base, suggesting that he resides in heaven and is awaiting his final rebirth.

This Japanese scroll shows the glorious descent from the heavens of the Buddha Amitabha to save a person at the moment of death. Amitabha’s body is said to radiate light, suggested here by brilliant gold and blue and green mineral pigments.

The knobs at the bottom of the scroll are embedded with the remains of one Mrs. Oikawa, who lived in the outskirts of what is now Tokyo and died there in 1668. A long inscription on the back describes the unusual circumstances of her death and how and why her grieving husband commissioned this painting.

In this close up, the Buddha is accompanied by twenty-seven bodhisattvas who dance, sing, and play music—the sights and sounds of salvation.

Looking closely at this detail, you will see Amitabha’s main attendants extend a lotus pedestal to a deceased woman. She will rest inside it as she makes the trip to paradise.

A deceased woman awaits on the lower right corner, in prayer. She is dressed for her journey to paradise, wearing a red robe with a design of flocks of plovers.

Beyond the celestial palace are eight great cremation grounds, where packs of wild dogs fight over bones. Each ground features a tantric master, or mahasiddha, who has reached enlightenment and acts as an intermediary to provide greater access to Hevajra.

The couple dances at the center of the cosmos, surrounded by Dakini goddesses that personify liberation and the transmission of secret knowledge. This mandala is a diagram of the true nature of reality, a portable temple that makes the divine couple accessible.

Hevajra and his consort dance on an upturned skull cup, and additional skull cups are held by deities throughout, referring to life’s impermanence and suggesting that one should not wait to seek enlightenment, but act now in this moment.

 The deity Hevajra appears here in four-armed form with his consort Nairatmya. Hevajra's name is composed of "he," compassion, representing the male aspect, and "vajra," wisdom and action, the female aspect. Together they offer the path beyond this illusory world.