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Lot Essay
Avalokitesvara, the ‘Lord who looks upon the World’, is the bodhisattva of compassion, and one of the principle deities in Mahayana Buddhism. Although he has attained enlightenment like the Buddha, the bodhisattva forgoes his escape from the suffering of rebirth to act as a guide to all living beings until they themselves have achieved nirvana. Worshipped in many guises, the present figure is depicted as Padmapani, the ‘holder of the lotus’. Like the lotus, which rises from its murky bed below the water to blossom in the air, Padmapani has detached himself from the pain and impurities of the material world and is enlightened in body, speech, and mind.
Worshipped in Nepal from at least the mid-6th century, Avalokitesvara was one of the most popular Buddhist deities in the Kathmandu Valley, his worship rivaling that of the Buddha himself. With time, the compassionate characteristics of Avalokitesvara became intertwined with the attributes of the local Nepalese deities such as the rain god, Bunga-dyo, and even the Brahmanical Shiva, and the customs for worship of these different gods were integrated into one another. Demand for images of this auspicious bodhisattva was therefore staggering, and from an early period, craftsmen throughout the valley were executing works in wood, stone, paint, and bronze.
Worshipped in Nepal from at least the mid-6th century, Avalokitesvara was one of the most popular Buddhist deities in the Kathmandu Valley, his worship rivaling that of the Buddha himself. With time, the compassionate characteristics of Avalokitesvara became intertwined with the attributes of the local Nepalese deities such as the rain god, Bunga-dyo, and even the Brahmanical Shiva, and the customs for worship of these different gods were integrated into one another. Demand for images of this auspicious bodhisattva was therefore staggering, and from an early period, craftsmen throughout the valley were executing works in wood, stone, paint, and bronze.