Description
Statuette of Chenrezig in bronze with partial gilding
Avalokiteshvara (Tib.: Chenrezig) means ‘compassionate gaze’ or ‘Lord looking down from on high’. He shows infinite love and compassion for all living beings.
The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was once one of Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciples, and the Buddha predicted that Avalokiteshvara would play an important role in the history of Tibet. In ancient times, the Tibetans were a warlike people, characterised by extreme ferocity, and no one dared to influence them, except the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He said that he would endeavour to make ‘all this bloodthirsty country filled with light’.
It so happened that Avalokiteshvara chose the Tibetans over the other way round. Chenrezi was later recognised as the divine patron of the Land of Snows, and the Dalai Lamas and Karmapas came to be regarded as his emanations. Avalokiteshvara is the spiritual son of Amitabha Buddha, and tanks often depict the figure of Amitabha above his head.
Om mani padme hum (sanhkr. om mani padme hum)-the famous mantra of the great Bodhisattva of compassion, Chenrezig. One of the most famous and widespread mantras of Mahayana Buddhism, especially popular in Tibet.
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