Other deities owed their births to other parts of his body. They aimed to expiate the past sins of devotees, and also provided a vast array of spiritual and worldly benefits. The thousand arms and eyes of the bodhisattva were correspondingly identified as the result of his vow to save all suffering beings. He appears to possess one thousand arms and one thousand eyes, and the sun and moon bodhisattvas are represented as small figures within red and white disks in the upper right and left corners of the image.
The frontal pose of Avalokiteshvara and attendant figures in the painting reinforce the centrality of the bodhisattva as the main focus of devotion. The probable identification of the figures in the middle register are, on the left, Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity, and, to the right, the Indian male ascetic Vasu. Both figures commonly flank images of the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara, and are associated with the group of twenty-eight deities that accompany the bodhisattva.
Also part of this group are two multi-armed guardian deities in the lower left and right corners, their bodies enclosed within flames. The bottom horizontal register contains images of female donors on the left and those representing male donors on the right. It is understanding dependent arising that puts an end to sentient beings misfortunes, because their source is ignorance.
It is because they are dependent arisings that things have no independent existence. The text states that when realization of dependent arising and emptiness of independent existence are simultaneous and concurrent, analysis of the profound view is complete. His Holiness noted that the text was written by Lobsang Drakpa, a Bhikshu well-versed in the teachings of the Buddha. His Holiness then began procedures for giving the Avalokiteshvara empowerment, starting with the dispelling of obstacles.
In the course of the ritual he gave upasaka and upasaki vows to laypeople who wished to take them and led the assembly in first generating the aspiring mind of enlightenment—bodhichitta and then the Bodhisattva vows. Towards the end he observed that empowerment is like being given the authority to do the practice. He concluded the rite by also giving transmission of the mantras of the Buddha, Manjushri, Arya Tara and Hayagriva.
He observed that these works are all available in Tibetan and Chinese. They are available in English too. In connection with the creation of the armed Avalokiteshvara statue, he mentioned that after a similar statue in the Jokhang in Lhasa was destroyed, fragments were brought to him here in India and were incorporated into the present image. His Holiness recounted having a dream early in his days in exile of a famous Chenresig statue in Tibet, which had historic associations with Songtsen Gampo.
Through perseverance that applies diligence, with stability, cheerfulness, and without laziness, with a body and mind suffused with power, may I consummate the far-reaching perfection of diligence. Just emanating waves of love does not do the trick—violence somehow persists.
Offer food to a hungry demon, and he responds by starting to eat your arm. No matter how peaceful and loving I am, it has no effect. From each tear a goddess was born, one white and one green—the two forms of Tara. Please calm yourself. At last, however, he became truly discouraged, and in that moment his body was instantly shattered into bits. Then one of the fragments of the bodhisattva cried out in despair to Amitabha Buddha for help.
Who ever told you to take such an ambitious vow? What have you done to yourself? You know, you should always be careful about what you wish for, because—whatever it is, good or bad—sooner or later you will get it. Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, we depend on readers like you to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.
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