Gilt-Bronze Figure of Seated Buddha Shakyamuni

This is a gilt-bronze sculpture of the Buddha Shakyamuni. The Buddha is depicted sitting on a lotus pedestal with his legs crossed, and his hands are in dharmacakra mudra, the gesture of turning the wheel of dharma, which symbolises Buddhist teaching and preaching. Unlike the conventional soothing smile, the Buddha has a serious facial feature, since he is enunciating the adamant and solemn doctrines of Buddhism. The Buddha’s robe is depicted with an extraordinary attention to details, particularly with the ornamental patterns on the edge and the sleeve of the robe. The ushnisha on the top of his head still bears visible marks of its original blue hue. The sculpture truthfully pertains to the Tibetan iconometry, while bearing visible stylistic influences from Kashmir and Pala. The conjoined eyebrows, as well as the elegantly elongated eyes, are typical features of Kashmiri and Pala statues. Therefore, this sculpture embodies and testifies to the distinctive mode of development of Tibetan Buddhism, in which Tibet were constantly incorporating new artistic styles and Buddhist teachings from its West, particularly since the rise of the Guge Kingdom in Western Tibet since the 9th century.
As the founder of Buddhism, Buddha Shakyamuni discovers that the nature of life is suffering, as summarised by the Four Noble Truths. The way to escape from this suffering is to practice Buddhism by following the Noble Eightfold Path. After his enlightenment, the Buddha is encouraged by Indra, the king of the heavenly realm, to teach his fellow people about the dharma. This sculpture commemorates the historical moment of his first sermon in the deer park, as symbolised by the sculpture’s dharmacakra mudra. Looking into the Buddha’s eyes, his preaching gaze penetrates our soul, reminding us the good in the world, and the Buddhist vision of a peacfule and loving world.

-Danny Ching – (CB.2886)