佛像网

尺寸：24 x 10 x 7 cm
年代：唐代 7-8世纪
质地：铜鎏金
风格：中原
来源：加拿大皇家安大略博物馆
参阅：外部链接
鉴赏：
A Bodhisattva has conceived the Thought of Enlightenment, which is the first step towards Nirvana, but postpones his own Nirvana indefinitely in order to help others on the way. In contrast to Buddhas, who only wear a simple monk's habit, Bodhisattvas are richly dressed and wear jewelry. There are many different bodhisattvas, but Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin in Chinese) was the most popular. He is usually depicted with a small image of Amitabha Buddha in his crown. Among his many shapes are the eleven-headed and thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara. In China, Guanyin started to be rendered as a female rather than a male deity from the Song dynasty (960-1279) on.

菩萨已发菩提心——此乃通向涅槃之第一步，然为助他者修行，菩萨将自己的涅槃无限期延后。与仅着简朴僧衣的佛陀不同，菩萨衣着华美，佩戴珠宝。菩萨众有多种，而观世音菩萨（中文称“观音”）最为盛行。其形象通常冠中带有阿弥陀佛小像。在观音的众多化相中，便有十一面千手观音。在中国，自宋代（960-1279）起，观音开始由男性神祇转变为女性形象呈现。