Traditional Tibetan Rugs - artelino

Maitreya Buddha is the future Buddha. According to old Buddhist scripts he will come to earth in human form 4,000 years after the disappearance of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha.

Although there are roughly 1.500 more years to go until Maitreya's term will come, he is not sitting around idle. He is warming up and collecting some more experience as a Bodhisattva.

Avalokiteshvara, Avalokiteshvara, ... I had to repeat this tongue breaker name certainly more than a dozen times before I could remember him. Avalokiteshvara is another of these odd deities from the Buddhist pantheon. And in spite of his tongue breaker name, he is very popular among Buddhists, mainly in Nepal.

Chakrasamvara is another of these weird-looking deities revered in tantric Buddhism. With their fierce look, multiple arms and legs, skull decorations and other odd accessories these deities usually have a bewildering impact on Westerners.

But frankly, from an artistic view, images of deities like Chakrasamvara have always exerted a great fascination on me.

Vajrapani is one of the Bodhisattvas. Overall an interesting guy with a cute story. And overall easy to remember for non-scholars. 'Vajra' is that thunderbolt thing and 'pani' means 'in his hands'. Thus, Vajrapani - thunderbolt in hand. His Tibetan name is Chana Dorje.

Akshobhya is the second in rank of the Five Dhyani Buddhas. These are not real beings, but just a kind of virtual concepts of Buddhism. Pretty sophisticated, these Dhyani Buddhas. And even more strange: in spite of this intellectual concept on a high level, the Five Dhyani Buddhas are very popular among the common people of Nepal who are often illiterate.

Akshobhya is often to be found on Buddhist art objects. A reason for friends of Himalayan art to remember his name and get a bit of an idea what he looks like.

Vajrasattva is very popular among followers of the Buddhist Vajrayana branch as for instance practiced in Tibet. Vajrayana is also called tantric Buddhism. Vajrasattva is the deity of purification.

Vajrasattva has the look of a spoiled young dandy prince. He wears a rich dress and jewelry is hanging around his neck and is attached to his ears. His long hair is careffully bound on top to an intricate something. Even his wrists and upper arms are decorated with precious jewelry. At first sight Vajrasattva looks like an image of the Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, before he had left his father's palace.