Memory, Memento, and Sacred Bond
Buddhakshetra Votive Plaque and Mold
- 86
- Tibet
- 19th century
- Sun-dried clay; bronze (mold)
- Stamp, H. 4 1/2 x W. 4 x D. 2 1/4 in. (11.4 x 10.2 x 5.7 cm); mold, H. 3 1/4 x W. 3 3/4 x D. 1/2 in. (8.3 x 9.5 x 1.3 cm)
- Newark Museum, Purchase 1936, Carter D. Holton Collection, 36.325a, b
- Bodh Gaya
The practice of spreading tsha-tsha offerings throughout the landscape is likened to sowing seeds of potential spiritual merit, a practice parallel to a meditation envisioning "fields of buddhas" throughout the world. This tsha-tsha presents a vision of a buddhakshetra (Buddha Field) with ten nearly identical seated Buddhas making the earth-touching gesture. Single and triple wish-granting gems float in the background, interspersed with eight identical stupas and repetitions of the consecratory seed syllables om ah hum, "body, speech, and mind."
PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Goodbody, Newark Museum