Buddha Shakyamuni as Lord of the Munis Pillow

In this vintage 17th-century tangka, Buddha Shakyamuni holds a begging bowl and gestures to the earth to witness his awakening. His golden complexion evokes his transcendent nature, and the patchwork robe indicates his non-attachment. He meditates upon a radiating lotus and is attended by the adoring figures of the bodhisattvas Maitreya (holding a flask) and Manjushri (a sword). Shakyamuni’s status as a cosmic Buddha is indicated by the rows of Buddhas that occupy the upper registers and the sixteen arhats that surround the lotus throne. In the lowest register are three seated monks flanked by the four guardian kings (lokapala).