Seated Transcendent Buddha Vairochana

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This splendid Buddha is seated on a large double-lotus pedestal in the cross-legged yogic, adamantine posture of vajraparyankasana, the right leg over the left, with the soles of both feet facing upward. His robe is draped to leave the right shoulder bare, and a portion of the garment that covers the left wrist falls behind the figure. The lower hem of the robe comes all the way down so that the undercloth or skirt is completely covered. The Buddha's raised right hand makes the teaching or expository gesture (vitarkamudra) and his left rests on his right foot, in a gesture that approximates the dhyanamudra, or meditative gesture. This combination is one assigned to Vairochana, a transcendent Buddha that plays an important role in early Esoteric Buddhism and provides the basis for the tentative identification of this figure, which may have been part of a larger three-dimensional assemblage such as a mandala.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art