Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple
Lhasa, Tibet. Yarlung Dynasty. Believed to have been brought to Tibet in 641 C.E. Gilt metals with sempirecious stones, pearls, and paint; various offerings
The Jowo Rinpoche statue, Tibet's most revered religious icon, was made in India by Vishakarma during Buddha Shakyamuni's lifetime. At the time of the Buddha, there were only two statues of this type. The other one is still at Bodhgaya.
Form
- Statue made of gilt metal
- The effect is an image of gold hue with shocking blue hair
Function
- Clearly great religious & cultural importance to the people of Tibet (as seen through its restoration and veneration over 1300 years)
- To act as the Buddha’s proxy after his parinirvana or departure from the world
- So the religious significance of this buddha comes from its likeness of the Buddha as well as it having been carved by vishwakarma (the architect)
- 641 CE - a chinese princess is said to have brought it to tibet as part of her marriage dowry to emperor songtsten gampo
- Same time period as was found the earliest evidence of the sculpture
- This date also coincides with the foundation of buddhism in tibet
- ^^concludes that jowo shakyamuni isn’t one of the first images of the buddha, yet it is extremely important bc its arrival in tibet coincides with the foundation of buddhism in tibet
Content
- Jowo Shakyamuni or Jowo Rinpoche
- Rinpoche = “precious one” in the Tibetan language
- A larger than life-size image of the historical buddha
- Housed in the jokhang temple in lhasa, tibet
- Today, seated against a resplendent gold & bejeweled throne
- Seated with his legs in the lotus position or padmasana
- His left hand is in the mudra (hand gesture) of meditation (dhyana mudra)
- His right hand is in the gesture of “calling the earth to witness” (bhumisparsha mudra)
- Together, the hand postures signify the moment of the buddha’s enlightenment
- Shown in a thin monk’s robe
- When dressed, the jowo shakyamuni is presented with a jeweled crown & robes
Context
- Thousands of existing buddha images in the world today
- Of varying mediums and sizes
- Buddha shakyamuni
- Buddhism was founded by one individual: siddhartha gautama, in the 6th or 5th century BC
- This man, also known as shakyamuni
- Only one school of buddhism at this time (taught by the buddha); yet there came to be different sects of buddhism over time
- The sculpture has undergone restoration/reconstruction over the years
- Most recently, during the Cultural Revolution
- Unknown to what it originally looked like in the 7th century when it was made
- Yet the crown & robes that it is wearing today are known to be much later additions
- Considered the most sacred & important buddha image in tibet
- ^^bc it’s believed to have been carved by the celestial architect (vishwakarma) in india during buddha’s lifetime
- Potentially sculpted from a life portrait of buddha
- ^^yet, by actually dating the image, it comes from ~early to middle 7th century CE - contrasting with texts’ claims that it is the most accurate / earliest portrait of buddha
- The invention of the buddha image dates to after the turn of the first century CE - with the advent of mahayana buddhism during the kushan dynasty
- And this sculpture doesn’t conform to the stylistic conventions of early buddha images
- So, not a sculpted-from-life portrait and not one of the earliest images of the buddha, it does hold cultural & religious importance
- Evidenced by its continued veneration, its dressing for special occasions & feeding it (as if it were real)
- What makes it “more sacred” than another buddha?
- Its purported direct lineage to the buddha
- The belief that it is the most accurate
Cross cultural comparison: sacred images
- Moai
- Apollo from Veii
- Reliquary of Sainte-Foy
