040
The Buddha Matri ("Mother of Buddhas"), Prajnaparamita, Surrounded
by 200 of the Thousand Buddhas
Thangka, painting
Cotton support with opaque mineral pigments in waterbased (collagen) binder
28.5 x 37.75 inches
Central Tibet
Ca. 17th century
Indeterminate style
The archetypical Buddhist goddess, Prajnaparamita, is the personification
of a text of the same name, in which the fundamentals of Mahayana Buddhism
are established. The text describes itself as Sarva-buddha-matri, "Mother
of All Buddhas." Accordingly, the goddess Prajnaparamita who personifies
the text and all of her emanations are "Buddha Mothers." The goddess
is also considered a female Buddha. Her "children" are the surrounding
Buddhas. She is identified by the Prajnaparamita book and a vajra, a complex
symbol of the Buddhist universality, which are delicately painted at the
center of the lotuses to her left and right.
Natalie Marsh
Museum #: 96.015
Huntington Archive Image Scan #: T1047