Maitreya Thangka

[Thangka of Maitreya Buddha’s Holy Realm]

Thangka of Maitreya Buddha’s Holy Realm, 18th century, Tibet, cloth book, color setting, 99 cm high, 54 cm wide, 61 cm vertical and 34 cm horizontal. The old collection of the Qing Palace
Maitreya is called “Qiangba” in Tibetan, whose name means Cishi, and his belief is very popular in Xianmi Buddhism. The Sutra of Dharma Destruction, the Sutra of Maitreya and the Sutra of Maitreya’s Next Life say that Maitreya is the future Buddha who is taught and recorded by Sakyamuni and who is born after the extinction of Sakyamuni to preach the Dharma. He preaches under the Longhua tree. Therefore, Maitreya has two images: Buddha costume and Bodhisattva costume. Maitreya Bodhisattva lives in the inner courtyard, which is the holy world of Maitreya Buddha depicted in this Thangka
The whole picture takes Maitreya Bodhisattva as the center of gravity. Maitreya holds a clean bottle in his left hand, holds a statement seal in his right hand, sits in the middle with folded hands, and the gods and bodhisattvas surround the dharma seat, listening to the teachings, including the gurus Adixia and Zongkaba. The surrounding palaces are resplendent and magnificent, the heavens are protected, the gods play music, scatter flowers, worship and praise, and the scene is solemn and magnificent. In the middle of the lower part of the picture, a standing statue of Maitreya is painted to symbolize the Bodhisattva’s idea of becoming a Buddha. Throughout the painting, the arrangement of the figure landscape is staggered, the details are vivid, the composition is compact and full, and the color is rich and bright. It is a Thangka masterpiece with rich Tibetan local style
There is a white silk label on the back of the Thangka, which is inscribed in four characters of Han, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan in ink, in which the Chinese text is: “The benefit portrait of Maitreya, the holy world of Buddha…”.

弥勒佛圣界唐卡背后白绫签