is frequently linked with Avalokites ́vara and is revered
in Tibet. Others include Prajñaparamita, the personi-
fication of wisdom, and Usnsavijaya, the embodiment
of the cranial protuberance on the Buddha’s head.
Guardians and other figures
A wide array of protectors is found in Buddhist
iconography. The guardians of the four cardinal di-
rections, derived to some extent from early Indian na-
ture spirits known as yaksas, are the earliest and most
longstanding. After the sixth century, they are usually
shown wearing heavy armor and carrying weapons
and other attributes in the arts of Central and East
Asia. Door or entranceway guardians (dvarapalas), on
the other hand, are shown in active, almost threaten-
ing, postures, and wear only the dhoti,a skirtlike In-
dian garment. The five wisdom kings (vidyaraja), who
manifest the powers of the transcendent Buddha
Vairocana, are commonly found in East Asian tradi-
tions beginning in the eighth century. They are char-
acterized by Indian clothing, weapons, and terrifying
expressions.
Related figures, often based on Hindu S ́aivism,
such as Hevajra, Cakrasamvara, and Yamantaka-
Vajrabhairava, are common in Tibetan traditions,
where they serve as both protectors and the focus of
individual practices. Yamantaka-Vajrabhairava is a ter-
rifying manifestation of Mañjus ́r, whose benign head
appears at the top of his stack of nine faces. His pri-
mary face, which is that of a buffalo, is a reference to
Yama, the Hindu god of death, who rides this animal.
Yamantaka-Vajrabhairava’s adoption of this face illus-
trates his ability to transcend the state of death. He has
thirty-four arms, many of which hold ritual imple-
ments, and sixteen legs. The garland of severed heads,
and the human beings and animals that he tramples,
illustrate negative states that must be conquered in the
quest for enlightenment. His embrace of Vajravetali
signifies the union of compassion and wisdom, the
two penultimate Buddhist virtues. Known as father-
mother, or yab-yum,such icons are common in Tibet.
Tibetan Buddhism preserves the use of a system of
five buddha families to help structure the enormous
pantheon that had evolved by the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. The Tibetan system derives from
one used in eastern India (Bihar, West Bengal, and
Bangladesh) during this period, and is loosely based
on an earlier grouping of three families. Each family
is headed by one of the five major transcendent bud-
dhas: AKSOBHYA, Amoghasiddhi, Vairocana, Amitabha,
and Ratnasambhava. Each of the five buddhas and the
various members of his family have an associated
color, vehicle, attribute, gesture, and direction.
Sculpted and painted portraits of famous monks,
both historical and semilegendary, are found in Tibet,
China, Korea, and Japan. Other commonly portrayed
figures include ARHATS, enlightened disciples of the
Buddha who became popular in China in the ninth
and tenth centuries, and spread from there to Korea,
Japan, and Tibet. In addition to representations in
sculpture and painting, arhats are often shown as a
theme in the decorative arts. Found in groups of six-
teen, eighteen, or five hundred, they are depicted ei-
ther as gruesome figures or as handsome young men.
The MAHASIDDHAS,a group of semihistorical adepts of-
ten credited with the creation of the later esoteric tra-
ditions practiced in Tibet, are commonly found in
paintings from that part of Asia.See also:Bodhisattva Images; Buddha Images; Bud-
dha, Life of the, in Art; China, Buddhist Art in;
Himalayas, Buddhist Art in; Huayan Art; India, Bud-
dhist Art in; Indonesia, Buddhist Art in; Japan, Bud-
dhist Art in; Korea, Buddhist Art in; Robes and
Clothing; Southeast Asia, Buddhist Art inBibliography
Eliade, Mircea, ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion, 16 vols. New
York: Macmillan, 1987.
Mallmann, Marie-Thérèse de. Introduction a l’iconographie du
tantrisme bouddhique.Paris: Librarie Adrien-Maisonneuve,
1975.
Saunders, E. Dale. Mudra: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japan-
ese Buddhist Sculpture.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 1985.
Snellgrove, David L., ed. The Image of the Buddha.London:
Serindia; Paris: UNESCO, 1978.DENISEPATRYLEIDYMULASARVASTIVADA. See Sarvastivada and
MulasarvastivadaMULASARVASTIVADA-VINAYAThe Mulasarvastivada-vinayais one of the six extant
Buddhist monastic codes, or VINAYAS. There is some
controversy about how to understand its title, andMULASARVASTIVADA