Item: Shakyamuni Buddha - with Sixteen Elders (Arhats)

Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya thu pa. English: Sage of the Shakya Clan, the Enlightened One): along with two principal disciples, the Sixteen Great Elders, and the Two Attendants.

Sanskrit: Buddha Shakyamuni Tibetan: Sang gye sha kya tu pa

With one face and two hands, his hair is blue with a topknot crowned with a gold ornament. Attired in orange and red robes tied with a green sash, the right shoulder is slightly covered leaving the length of the arm bare. The legs are folded in vajra posture with the right over left. The right hand is placed with the palm down across the knee in the mudra (gesture) calling the Earth to witness the moment of enlightenment. The left hand rests in the lap in the mudra of meditation and holds a black begging bowl. Surrounded by a nimbus of blue light rays forming a green sphere and a aureola, framed by clouds, he sits above a moon disc, multi-coloured lotus blossom and a lion supported throne. Next to the throne, standing at the left side is the monk Shariputra and at the right Maudgalyayana, both holding a khakkhara staff in the right hand and a begging bowl in the left.

The Sixteen Great Elders completely surround the Buddha, above, to the sides and below. They all wear robes in the Chinese fashion and sit in various relaxed poses, some on cushioned mats and others on raised chairs.

At the bottom left corner sits Hvashang the patron of the Sixteen Elders. At the right corner sits Dharmatala, the attendant to the Elders, accompanied by a tiger

Jeff Watt 3-2016