Buddha with Many Arms
by Craig Wood
Title
Buddha with Many Arms
Artist
Craig Wood
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
"Guanyin and the Thousand Arms
One Buddhist legend presents Guan Yin as vowing to never rest until she had freed all sentient beings from samsara, reincarnation. Despite strenuous effort, she realized that still many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, her head split into eleven pieces. Amitabha Buddha, seeing her plight, gave her eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokitesvara attempted to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that her two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabha came to her aid and appointed her a thousand arms with which to aid the many. Many Himalayan versions of the tale include eight arms with which Avalokitesvara skillfully upholds the Dharma, each possessing its own particular implement, while more Chinese-specific versions give varying accounts of this number."
There are statues of both males and females with the title of Kannon, Kwan Yin or Guan Yin and even associations with the Indian deity Kali - all possessing many arms. This one in particular is Japanese and at the Tendai Mission Temple in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Photograph is the property of Craig Wood and cannot be copied or used without permission. FAA watermark will not appear on prints purchased
Uploaded
June 7th, 2014
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