Buddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnapramita

Buddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnapramita

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Above: Buddha giving safety (abhayandada) to mariners, a role more typically assumed by Bodhisattava Avalokiteshvara. Celestial celebrants emerge from clouds above, and from the sea, a deity submits to the Buddha's calming powers; perhaps this the planetary deity Rahu, who causes eclipses, hence an association with storms. Below: A bodhisattva in a mountain grotto, playing a stringed instrument (vina).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Buddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika PrajnapramitaBuddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika PrajnapramitaBuddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika PrajnapramitaBuddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika PrajnapramitaBuddha Giving Safety (Abhayananda) to Mariners, Leaf from a Dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnapramita

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.