Iconographical study of Avalokitesvara, Tara and Maitreya

 Bodhisattvas

Bodhisattvas are beings who have progressed along the path to perfect enlightenment and salvation because they are spiritually advanced. As part of their spiritual work, they choose to convey religious assistance to devout but ordinary mortals. They are sort of like the equivalent of Buddhist "saints" and are especially important in Mahayana Buddhism. To Mahayana Buddhists they are "near Buddha" or “enlightened persons” on the verge of nirvana who purposely stopped short of attaining it, so, like Buddha, they could teach their method to others and help humanity move towards enlightenment. Bodhi means “enlightenment” and sattva means “being." Bodhisattvas remain in close contact with imperfect humans and retain many of their human qualities. The difference between them and mere mortals is that they don't let these qualities pollute their spiritual essence. Bodhisattvas are ranked above gods in some cosmological schemes. According to the (सुखावतिवुहा) Sukhavativyuha, "Bodhisattvas are ten times more beautiful than devas, who are ten times more beautiful than humans". Bodhisattvas are especially important to Mahayana Buddhists. Mahayana temples often feature images of the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara, Tara, Maitreya, Amitabha and so on.

Avalokiteśvara

Avalokiteśvara is one of the most popular bodhisattvas in Buddhism. The literal meaning of the bodhisattvas is taken as the potential Buddha. The status of the Bodhisattvas is subordinate got the head position of the Buddha. In the tantric Buddhist pantheon, the bodhisattvas are regarded as ‘g’ whereas Gautam Buddha is regarded as capital ‘G’. The word Avalokiteśvara is made of ava (“down”) +lokita (“to notice”) +īśvara (“lord”) which means “the lord who gazes down at the world. It has been suggested that its original form was Avalokitaśvara with the ending a-śvara (“sound, noise”), which means “sound perceiver”, literally “he who looks down upon sound”. The original meaning of the name fits the Buddhist understanding of the role of a bodhisattva. Now the name Avalokiteśvara is variously interpreted as “the lord who descends,” “he who is enabled to reach the highest understanding,” “master of (inner) light i.e., enlightenment,” “the lord who looks in every direction,” “the lord of what we see” (i.e. the actual, created world), “With a Pitying Look,” “Lord of the World,” and “He Who Looks with the Eyes.”

Avalokiteśvara is depicted and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In Tibet, he is known as Chenrezig/ Jänräsig which means “the one who always looks upon all beings (with the eye of compassion)”. As Chenrezig, he is the Four-Armed male Avalokiteśvara, with two hands in the praying gesture while the other two hands hold his symbols, the Crystal Rosary and the Lotus Flower. His female consort is the goddess Dolma (Tārā). In China, he has been transformed into the female deity Guanyin. In Japan and Korea, he is known as Kannon and Gwaneum (or Gwanseeum-bosal) respectively. He is the only Mahāyāna Buddhist deity commonly worshipped in Theravāda. Avalokiteśvara is popularly worshipped in Thailand, where he is called Lokeśvara and in Myanmar, where he is called Lokanāt. Sri Lankans worship him as Nāthadeva (often mistakenly confusing with the future Buddha Maitreya).

Avalokiteśvara is a personification of infinite compassion and mercy, key virtues of Buddhism. Avalokiteśvara’s skilful means are never-ending and he has the ability to assume any form to relieve the suffering of the sentient beings. He quintessentially epitomizes the bodhisattva’s resolution to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has facilitated the liberation of each and every being in any form in any of the six realms of existence (hell-beings, pretas, animals, humans, asuras, and devas). Consequently, he descends to each of these realms to help those who suffer there. Chapter 25 of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra often circulates separately as an independent sūtra, called the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra, is generally accepted to be the earliest literature describing the virtues and doctrines of Avalokiteśvara. The Avalokiteśvara Sūtra was amalgamated into the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra (Lotus Sutra) around the third century of the Common Era.

One prominent Buddhist legend tells that once one finds out that the number of suffering beings yet to be saved is overwhelmingly enormous, his head split into eleven pieces. Amitābha Buddha, seeing his plight, caused each piece to become a whole head with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokiteśvara attempts to reach out to all those who need aid but finds that his two arms are shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitābha Buddha comes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with eyes on the palms of each hand (Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva). Consequently, the thousand eyes allowed him to see the sufferings of sentient beings, and the thousand hands allowed him to reach out to help the suffering multitudes. He is also known as the spiritual son of Bodhisattva Amitābha. In this way, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara has occupied a prominent place in Tantric Buddhism.

Tārā

Tārā, Ārya Tārā, or Shayama Tara, also known as Jetsun Dölma  in Tibetan Buddhism, is an important figure in Buddhism. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism and as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.

Tārā is a meditation deity revered by practitioners of the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism to develop certain inner qualities and to understand outer, inner and secret teachings such as karuṇā (compassion), mettā (loving-kindness), and shunyata (emptiness). Tārā may more properly be understood as different aspects of the same quality, as bodhisattvas are often considered personifications of Buddhist methods. Tara, Tibetan Sgrol-ma, a Buddhist saviour-goddess with numerous forms, is widely popular in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. She is the feminine counterpart of the bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”) Avalokiteshvara. According to popular belief, she came into existence from a tear of Avalokiteshvara, which fell to the ground and formed a lake. Out of its waters rose up a lotus, which, on opening, revealed the goddess. Like Avalokiteshvara, she is a compassionate, succouring deity who helps men “cross to the other shore.” She is the protectress of navigation and earthly travel, as well as of spiritual travel along the path to enlightenment.

In Tibet, she is believed to be incarnate in every pious woman, and the two wives—a Chinese princess and a Nepali princess—of the first Buddhist king of Tibet, Srong-brtsan-sgam-po, were identified with the two major forms of Tara. The White Tara (Sanskrit: Sitatara; Tibetan: Sgrol-dkar) was incarnated as the Chinese princess. She symbolizes purity and is often represented standing at the right hand of her consort, Avalokiteshvara, or seated with legs crossed, holding a full-blown lotus. She is generally shown with a third eye. Tara is also sometimes shown with eyes on the soles of her feet and the palms of her hands (then she is called “Tara of the Seven Eyes,” a form of the goddess popular in Mongolia). The Green Tara (Sanskrit: Shyamatara; Tibetan: Sgrol-lang) was believed to be incarnated as the Nepali princess. She is considered by some to be the original Tara and is the female consort of Amoghasiddhi, one of the “self-born” Buddhas. She is generally shown seated on a lotus throne with her right leg hanging down, wearing the ornaments of a bodhisattva and holding the closed blue lotus (utpala). The White and Green Taras, with their contrasting symbols of the full-blown and closed lotus, are said to symbolize between them the unending compassion of the deity who labours both day and night to relieve suffering. Under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, the different forms of Tara multiplied to a traditional 108. Tibetan temple banners frequently show 21 different Taras, coloured white, red, and yellow, grouped around a central Green Tara. The figure of the “self-born” Amitabha Buddha is often shown in her headdress, as she, like Avalokiteshvara, is considered to be an emanation of Amitabha.

Maitreya

Maitreya, in Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha, presently a bodhisattva residing in the Tushita heaven, who will descend to earth to preach anew the dharma (“law”) when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have completely decayed. Maitreya is the earliest bodhisattva around whom a cult developed and is mentioned in scriptures from the 3rd century CE. He was accepted by all schools of Buddhism and is still the only bodhisattva generally honoured by the Theravada tradition. The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit maitrī (“friendliness”). In Pali, the name becomes Metteyya, in Chinese Milefo, in Japanese Miroku, and in Mongolian Maidari; in Tibetan, the bodhisattva is known as Byams-pa (“Kind,” or “Loving”). His worship was especially popular from the 4th to the 7th century, and his images are found throughout the Buddhist world; many of them beautifully convey his characteristic air of expectancy and promise. He is represented in painting and sculpture both as a bodhisattva and as a Buddha, and he is frequently depicted seated in European fashion or with his ankles loosely crossed.

Maitreya is typically known as pictured seated, with either both feet on the ground or crossed at the ankles, on a throne, waiting for his time. Maitreya is dressed in the clothes of either a Bhiksu or Indian royalty. As a bodhisattva, Maitreya would usually be standing and dressed in jewels. Usually, Maitreya wears a small stupa in his headdress which represents the stupa of the Buddha Sakyamuni’s relics to help him identify it when his turn comes to lay claim to his succession, and can be holding a Dharmachakra resting on a lotus. A Khata is always tied around his waist as a girdle. He is flanked by his two acolytes, the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu. The future Buddha Maitreya is also known as Gandhara in the 3rd century CE. Maitreya currently resides in the Tuṣita Heaven said to be reachable through meditation. Sakyamuni Buddha also lived here before he was born into the world as all bodhisattvas live in the Tuṣita Heaven before they descend to the human realm to become Buddhas. Although all bodhisattvas are destined to become Buddhas, the concept of a bodhisattva differs slightly in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. In Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva is one who is only destined to one day become a Buddha, whereas in Mahayana Buddhism. The bodhisattva is one who has already reached a very advanced state of grace or enlightenment but holds back from entering nirvana so that he may help others.