Reflections of the Buddha - The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Lower Gallery
23. Buddhist Triad: Buddha Amitābha (Amita Yeorae)
Seated on a Lotus Throne with His
Hands Held in the Bhūmisparśa
mudrā (chokji in) and Flanked by
Two Standing Bodhisattvas,
Presumably Avalokiteśvara
(Gwaneum) and
Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Daeseji),
mid-15th century
Korea, Joseon dynasty, 1392 – 1910; gilt silver; 4¼ x 4 x 2� in.;
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Ralph
C. Marcove, M.D., 1997.254
The central figure of this rare silver-cast triad was long
thought to depict Śākyamuni extending a hand downward,
“calling the earth to witness at the moment of
enlightenment.” It is now believed to be Amitābha with
a striking array of curls and high usnīsa. Two standing
bodhisattvas, who likely signify Amitābha’s wisdom and
compassion, respectively, flank him. The work was
probably produced in the area around Mt. Geumgang
in North Korea and commissioned by a confraternity
during a time when Buddhism, because it was officially
denounced by the state, developed at a popular level
independent of elite clerics and canonical texts.
45
24. “The Universal Gateway of Bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara,” Chapter
Twenty-Five of the Lotus
Sūtra (Miaofa lianhua jing
Guanshiyin pusa pumenpin),
with an appended
Heart Sūtra (Xin jing), 1432
China, Ming dynasty, 1368 –
1644; accordion-fold book; gold ink on indigo-dyed paper; palace
copy; overall: approximately 13⅜ x 542⅜ in.; Harvard Art
Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Alan Priest, 1926.46
This manuscript contains the texts of two of the most
popular sūtras (sacred texts) in Mahāyāna Buddhism:
the twenty-fifth chapter of the Lotus Sūtra and the Heart
Sūtra. Both present Avalokiteśvara, known in China as the
Guanyin. The first text vividly describes the myriad calamities
from which Guanyin will save any worshipper
who cries out his name, and the diverse forms that he
can take in order to make the Buddha’s teachings understood
to any aspiring believer. By contrast, the Heart Sūtra
presents a less worldly and more philosophically engaged
Guanyin. The text uses his voice to present an abbreviated
explanation of the Buddha’s teachings, emphasizing in
particular the non-dual nature of emptiness and form,
and the understanding that all things arise dependently.
The indigo dye used to color the paper served both a
practical and a symbolic purpose—deterring insects from
eating away at the paper and evoking lapis lazuli, which
is mentioned repeatedly in the Lotus Sūtra, including in
this passage: “Buddha lands, adorned with numerous
jewels, shone with hues of lapis lazuli and crystal ... due
to the illumination of the Buddha’s light.”
Note: Periodically throughout the exhibition, the Pulitzer will put
different sections of the Lotus Sūtra on view.