Akshobhya.
Literally means Unshakable. He resides in the Pure land Abhirati, and is the lord
of the Vajra clan; and often depicted in the center of the Vajra clan mandala.
Akshobhya is one of the five transcendent Buddhas in esoteric Buddhism. He represents
the eastern direction; along with Amitabha represents the west, Amoghasiddhi the
north, Ratnasambhava the south, and Virochana is in the center. Akshobhya represents
the transmutation of delusion into mirror wisdom of reality, and the purity of
the aggregated. The color of Akshobhya is white and sometimes in blue. His sutra
was one of the earliest to be translated into Chinese in the late Han period (23-220
CE).
This
rare bronze statue of Akshobhya is unique. Well cast and traced, with lacquered
gilt gold and aged patina. Incorporated with elements of both medieval Eastern
Indian, and Newari tradition of the Katmandu Buddhist art tradition and design
motifs. He is seated in dhyanasana on a lotus throne, his right hand in bhumisparsa,
left in dhyana holding a patra, and wearing a traditional sanghati. His face shown
in serene contemplative expression, incised eyebrows, rare flame-shaped urna in
relief, down cast heavy lidded almond-shaped eyes, straight nose, a bow-shaped
mouth with a slight smile, and hair arranged in rows of tiny curls on a high domed
usnisa. The superb gilding and intricate details of this small bronze is a hallmark
of Tibetan sculptures of around 17th-19th century; which we conservatively only
dating it as 19th century.
