Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas

Beautiful gathering of auspicious beings in a side altar at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar (see Sunday at Shwedagon and This Moment in Myanmar).

All Buddhas throughout space and time,

Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas,

Wisdom beyond wisdom,

Maha Prajna Paramita

EKO

[NOTES: Just so you know, an eko embodies the Mahayana practice of transferring the merit accrued from sutra chanting. According to Suzuki Roshi, "The eko is- After reciting sutra, we-[it is] a sort of explanation of why we recite sutra". And a mahasattva is a "great" bodhisattva, one explicitly defined by his/her devotion to the salvation of all beings. And Maha prajna paramita means "the perfection of great wisdom"].

2. Bodhisattva

Another unidentified bodhisattva. From the Song Dynasty (960-1279); wood with traces of paint and gilt decoration. 

"Bodhisattvas are beings who are dedicated to the universal awakening, or enlightenment, of everyone. They exist as guides and providers of succor to suffering beings, and offer everyone an approach to meaningful life. A bodhisattva, carrying out the work of buddhas, vows not to personally settle into the salvation of final buddhahood until he or she can assist all beings throughout the vast reaches of time and space to fully realize this liberated experience."

-Taigen Dan Leighton
Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression

[NOTE: Those who are visiting Bodhisattva Week for the first time can find some context here].

Bodhisattvas

This from the spectacular Asian Art wing of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That's Guanyin seated in the middle (Song Dynasty, 960-1269, wood with traces of paint), flanked by a pair of unidentified bodhisattvas (Southern Song Dynasty, 1127-1279, wood with traces of paint). The altar set and incense burner are from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). [NOTE: I had this whole wing to myself yesterday; non-flash photography is permitted. I was in heaven...].

Head of Bodhisattva

I could have gone a lot of different ways given the title of this post. I opted for form over emptiness and, as a result, offer simply an image of the head of a limestone bodhisattva from the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577) in Henan Province, China. My thoughts about what may actually be going on inside the head of a bodhisattva will have to wait until a later date. [NOTE: Statue is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; see Bodhisattvas at Chua Tay Phuong for a look at some other exquisite bodhisattva statues]. 

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

The entrance to the main temple at Myitkyina in Kachin State has a line of statues representing the Buddhist lineage in Myanmar, i.e. Gautama Buddha followed by dozens of bodhisattvas. [NOTE: Each statue is subtly different].

The temple grounds contain 1000's of statues of bodhisattvas and reknown Buddhist teachers. The base of each statue has a plaque with the person's name and temple affiliation.  You could spend hours here.