Meditating Buddha

This icon would have been placed on an altar in a monastery or domestic shrine. The hands are in the sacred gesture of meditation (dhyana mudrā), often associated with the buddha Amitābha (Āmítuófó 阿弥陀佛), the “Buddha of Infinite Light.” One of the most important buddhas in East Asia, Amitābha is the central deity of Pure Land Buddhism. According to this faith, the buddha created an alternate universe, or Pure Land, called the Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī), in which believers pray to be reborn. It is a world without suffering, where personal enlightenment is easily attained.

Made in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), this work still has traces of its gilding, giving us a better sense of its original appearance. The expression one of deep meditation, looking downward with a slight smile. The robe is hemmed with a beautiful pattern of scrolling lotuses. On the soles of the feet are the “Wheel of the Dharma,” one of the of the physical signs (lakśana) of a buddha. The swastika on the chest is a positive ancient Indian symbol common to Buddhism and Hinduism but corrupted by the Nazis in the mid-20th century.