Buddha Shakyamuni with two disciples
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ABP 014

 Code: ABP 014

  Country: Tibet

  Style:

  Date: 1400 - 1500

  Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 19 x 22

  Materials: Glue distemper on cotton

Historical Buddha Shakyamuni with two disciples

This small painting represents the historical Buddha Shakyamuni seated legs crossed in meditation on a lotus and precious throne supported by lions, his right extended hand touches the ground before him while his left rests on his lap in contemplation, holding the alms bowl. This posture refers to the episode of his victory over Mara, god of Death and illusion when, by touching the ground he took the Earth as a witness of his spiritual realisation. He is endowed with all the distinctive marks and signs of a “Great being:” short curly hair, a cranial protuberance (ushnisha), a curl of hair between the eyebrows (urna), elongated earlobes, and three marks on the throat, and so on.
 
The Buddha is surrounded by two of his close disciples, the one to his left presenting him with a crown. The color palette and the dark floral background show a very strong Nepalese influence.
 
A Buddha is an “Enlightened One”, awakened to the true nature of existence. He has transcended is human condition and is “no longer a man, nor a god”. He has reached nirvana – “the extinction” of desire and karma – and he is free from samsara, the endless cycle of existence and suffering. A Buddha generally appears as a renunciant, devoid of ornaments.