Buddhas Socks
Description: Amitayus, the Buddha of Eternal Life, is also known as Amitabha, one of the five Cosmic Buddhas of Esoteric Buddhism. He is shown in his paradise, Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, enthroned beneath a flowering tree festooned with strands of jewels and auspicious symbols. To either side, the sky is filled with throngs of ecstatic demigods who bear offerings and scatter flowers. Seated below are the eight great bodhisattvas, and between them are two large, low tables covered with offerings. To either side are the vast assembled audiences who receive Amitayus’s message. At the bottom, set within a vast panoramic landscape, are courtyards, giant lotus flowers, and pools from which the purified are being reborn.
Description: Ancient 14th-century Buddhist tangka of Amoghasiddhi with Eight Bodhisattvas. Amoghasiddhi is one of the five Transcendent Buddhas who preside over the heavens of the cardinal directions, his realm being to the north. In this context, he is identifiable by his green color. The five Taras below are likely the consorts of this cosmic group; the green one relates specifically to the central deity. Amoghasiddhi, who sits on a lotus throne surrounded by bodhisattvas, holds his right hand in abhaya mudra, a gesture that extends protection to devotees. The style of this tangka is indebted to twelfth-century eastern Indian painting traditions of the Pala period, as reflected in the dominant central figure and numerous descriptive details.
