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The Cosmic Buddha Ratnasambhava
The Cosmic Buddha Ratnasambhava

The Cosmic Buddha Ratnasambhava

Place of OriginChengde, Hebei Province, China
Date1780
DynastyQianlong emperor (1736–1795)
MaterialsInk and color on cotton
DimensionsH. 50 3/8 in × W. 30 in, H. 128 cm × W. 76.2 cm (image); H. 69 7/8 in × W. 38 1/4 in, H. 177.5 cm × W. 97.2 cm (overall)

Credit LineGift of John Sheldon Osborne
Object numberB83D6
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on view
More Information

Ratnasambhava (“jewel born”) is the buddha of the south cardinal direction. He is third among the Five Cosmic Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism. He is identified by his yellow color and the position of his right hand, which is lowered in the gesture of gift granting. Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life, floats above him to grant longevity to China’s Qianlong emperor (reigned 1736-1795), who probably commissioned the painting. Below Ratnasambhava are the goddesses White Tara and Green Tara.

This work, executed in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, contains a background derived from Chinese blue-and-green landscapes. The painting belongs to a large set of thangkas commissioned for the Xumifushou Monastery, which was built near the Summer Palace of Jehol (north of Beijing) by Emperor Qianlong for the sixth Panchen Lama’s visit to celebrate the emperor’s seventieth birthday in 1780. This temple is a replica of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the Panchen Lama’s monastic seat in Shigatse, Tibet.