Anonymous: The Buddha of the Eternal Life and Eight Bodhisattvas (11th century)

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA)

A painting made by unknown Tibetan artists. This piece was orginally part of a set of five, each depicting the five transcendental Buddhas - each symbolizes an aspect of enlightened consciousness. This piece shows the Amitayus (also known as Amitābha) Buddha, the celestial Buddha or 'The Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life'. Amitayus is shown together with his two principal attendants: Padmapani, the bodhisattva who bears the lotus, and Vajrapani, the bodhisattva who bears the vajra or thunderbolt. Further shown around him are six other bodhisattvas, seven goddesses seated in an arcade in the lower border, the Pancaraksas or five protective goddesses, white Tara and Usnisavijaya. Painting from the 11th century.