Page 81 - Christie's, materpieces of Buddhist Art December 2, 2015 HK

of the eleven faced configuration due to both being derived In contrast, the King’s Tradition describes the first three main
from an earlier tradition originating, it is said, with the famous faces as peaceful and white in colour. Above that are three
Nagarjuna, more likely to be a later Tantric Nagarjuna having yellow smiling faces. Above that are two dark blue wrathful
the same name merely by coincidence. This means that for faces. Above that are two dark red faces with bared fangs.
those two traditions the eleven faces and how they are arranged Above that is the red face of Amitabha Buddha. Along with
look the same in both. The origins of the King’s Tradition those differences the Bhikshuni Shri tradition further describes
of Avalokiteshvara are said to begin with the Tibetan King eight main hands with one thousand in total. The King’s
Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. However that origin claim Tradition describes ten main hands, followed by an additional
is seen as doubtful by modern scholarship. It is highly doubtful thirty-eight secondary hands, followed by one thousand and
also because the King’s Tradition itself is claimed within the twenty-two minor hands for a total of one thousand and
Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism to be a ‘revealed seventy. It is explained that the first group of hands represent
treasure’ (terma), akin to revelation, discovered in the 12th and the Dharmakaya, the second the Sambhogakaya and the third
13th centuries and by three different individuals. From those texts the Nirmanakaya.
making up the King’s Tradition there is described a different
arrangement of the eleven faces, a different colour scheme and TIBETAN POPULAR NARRATIVE: The popular and almost
a different combination of wrathful and peaceful faces. universal narrative found in the apocryphal Tibetan text called
the Mani Kabum a ‘revealed treasure’ of the 12th and 13th
For the Bhikshuni Shri and Jowo Atisha traditions Lokeshvara centuries states the origins of the Eleven Faced Lokeshvara as
is peaceful in appearance, with eleven faces rising upward in follows. At one time the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara made a
groups of three, the tenth is wrathful and the face at the very promise that should he give rise to thoughts of self-benefit may
top is that of Amitabha Buddha. Each face has two eyes and the head break into ten pieces and the body into one thousand.
a dot between the eyebrows; long black hair flows across the After continuously witnessing the misery of beings in various
shoulders. With eight hands the first pair at the heart hold a states of existence, discouraged, he gave rise to thoughts of
precious jewel. The three right hands extended to the side seeking only his own happiness. At that very instant the head
are in the gesture of generosity, holding a Dharma wheel and and body shattered. Calling out to Amitabha, the Buddha
crystal prayer beads. The three on the left hold a water flask, a came forth and spoke words of encouragement. Gathering up
bow and arrow and a lotus blossom. Each face is adorned with the ten pieces of the head Amitabha constructed ten faces -
a gold crown, ribbons and earrings. Necklaces, bracelets and representing the ten perfections. Gathering the one thousand
precious jewels adorn the body and a scarf is wrapped about pieces of the body he constructed another with one thousand
the neck. A deerskin is worn across the left shoulder and the hands each with an eye on the palm - representing the one
lower body is covered in various silk fabrics. With the two legs thousand Buddhas of the Golden Aeon. Finally he placed a
together he stands atop a lotus flower. duplicate of his own head at the crown - illuminating the entire
threefold universe.

Jeff Watt
Director and curator,
Himalayan Art Resources

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Arya Avalokiteshvara Ekadashamukha Nama Dharani. (Peking Kagyur, vol.8. brgyud 18, #373).
- Arya Mahakaruna Dharani Sutra. (Peking Kagyur, vol.8. brgyud 18, #368).
- “The Tibetan Avalokitesvara Cult in the Tenth Century: Evidence from the Dunhuang Manuscripts,” in Tibetan Buddhist Literature

and Praxis. Sam van Schaik (Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS, 2003, Volume 4), ed. Ronald M. Davidson and Christian
Wedemeyer (Leiden: Brill, 2006): 55-72.
- “Remarks on the Mani bKa’-’bum and the Cult of Avalokiteshvara in Tibet” by Matthew Kapstein, pages 79-93.Tibetan Buddhism,
Reason and Revelation edited by Steven D. Goodman and Ronald M. Davidson. SUNY, 1992. #5.
- The Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara by Lokesh Chandra. Abhinav Publications, 1988. ISBN 81-7017-247-0.
- “The Origin of Avalokitesvara” (PDF). Lokesh Chandra. Indologica Taurinenaia (International Association of Sanskrit Studies). XIII
(1985-1986): 189–190.
- The Clear Mirror: A traditional account of Tibet’s Golden Age. Sakyapa Sonam Gyaltsen (1996). Snow Lion Publications. pp. 64–65.
- The Blue Annals by George N. Roerich. Motilal Banarsidass, 1976. (First edition 1949). Page 1043.

79