Art

  • Relief of the Five Transcendent Buddhas
  • Votive Stela with Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Budai
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • State Oracle Garment
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • Buddha Shakyamuni 
  • Buddha Shakyamuni and the Earth-Touching Gesture
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Plaque Showing the Buddha Teaching
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Attains Awakening Under the Bodhi Tree
  • Green Tara (Shyama Tara)
  • Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • Head of a Bodhisattva
  • Head of a Monk
  • Bust of a Luohan
  • Standing Buddha Amida
  • Dharmatala and two lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Prince Siddhartha’s Wedding
  • Six Persimmons
  • Buddha Shakyamuni at the Moment of his Awakening
  • Praying Priest
  • Buddha Shakyamuni as a Newborn Infant
  • Buddhist Monastic Rules from the Pali Canon
  • Taima Mandala, the Buddha Amida’s Paradise
  • Jambhala, the God of Wealth
  • Great Stupa at Sanchi
  • Stupa
  • The Three Buddhas Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya
  • The Four Pleasures of Nan Shenglu (detail)
  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Standing Bodhisattva
  • Buddha Vairocana
  • Bodhidharma Crosses the Yangtze River on a Reed
  • Head of a Buddha
  • The Buddha Begins Teaching
  • Monastic Rules for Monks
  • Mara’s Daughters Tempt the Buddha
  • Yakshi, Nymph with Lotus Flowers, fragment of a baluster
  • Empress Jito, from the series “Parody of the Ogura Version of ‘One Hundred Poets, One Hundred Poems’ ”
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • The Transcendent Buddha Akshobhya
  • Gazelle
  • Travel Shrine
  • The Four Excursions
  • Jizo Bosatsu, Bodhisattva in the Guise of a Monk
  • Ceremonial Dagger Featuring the God of Death
  • Machig Labdrön
  • The Arhats Bakula, Rahula, Cudapanthaka, and Pindola From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Monumental Head of a Bodhisattva
  • Stela Showing Scenes from the Life of the Buddha
  • Amida Nyorai, Buddha of the Western Paradise
  • Sitatara, White Tara
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Female Monkey with Her Young
  • The Death of the Buddha
  • Dharmapala Yama
  • Thangka of the Twenty-One Taras
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Guhyamanjuvajra
  • Shaka Nyorai, the Historical Buddha
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Sheltered by the Serpent-King
  • Excerpt from the Lotus Sutra
  • The Arhats Vanavasin, Angaja, Kalika, and Ajita From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • Standing Buddha
  • Standing Monk with Hands Folded
  • The Ascetic Milarepa
  • The Prophecy of the Wise Asita
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Ushnishavijaya
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree
  • The Buddha’s Parinirvana
  • Mahasiddha Virupa
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • The Arhats Kanakavasta, Vajriputra, Kanaka Bharadvaja, and Bhadra From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Buddha Shakyamuni From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Padmasambhava
  • The 4th Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617)
  • Buddha Maitreya
  • Buddhist Pocket-sized Prayer Altar
  • Head of a Lokeshvara
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion in the Posture of Royal Ease
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • Dakini Vasya-Vajravarahi
  • Dharani Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Insight
  • Baisajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha
  • Votive Stela Depicting Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddha Shakyamuni with Scenes from his Life
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom
  • Vase with Lotus Vines and the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Vijaya Stupa
  • Printing Block for a Prayer from the Text “Embodiment of the Three Jewels” by Jatson Nyingpo (1585–1656)
  • Pancha Raksha Manuscript
  • The Arhats Panthaka, Gopaka, Nagasena, and Abheda From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Stupa
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Prophecy of the Buddha Dipankara
  • Leaving for Homelessness
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • Portrait of the Abbot Ennin
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Large Votive Stupa
  • Shakyamuni Enters Nirvana
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion as the Bringer of Sons
  • Half-length Portrait of the Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion Sitting in Meditation
  • Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Buddhist Votive Stela of the Yan Family
  • The Buddha Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Tames the Wild Elephant Nalagiri
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Hotei, One of the Gods of Good Fortune, with Child
  • Sakya Pandita (1182–1252)
  • Rectangular Coin
  • Standing Tara
  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • Hotei
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, as the Patron of fishermen
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Layman Huashang and Two Lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Portrait of the Zen Priest Gemmon Doyu
  • Buddha Dipankara, the Buddha of the Past
  • Bodhidharma
  • Zen Priest in a Golden Wrap
  • Vajradhara, the Primordial Buddha
  • Buddhist Monk
  • Gendün Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama (1476–1542)
The 4th Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617)

The 4th Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617)

The Mongol ruler Altan Khan conferred the title of Dalai Lama (“Ocean-like Teacher”) on the head of the Gelug School in 1578.

After the lama's death, his reincarnation was found to be the son of a Mongol prince, thus further consolidating the ties between the Gelug School and its Mongol patrons. The child was recognized as the 4th Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617). 

In this standardized portrayal, the 4th Dalai Lama sits upon a throne. To his right, we see the monastery of Sera, where he was abbot. Appearing in a vision at the top left is his teacher, Panchen Lama Lobzang Choki Gyaltsen (1570–1662). Three protective deities wreathed in flames surround the Dalai Lama.