Seated Buddha and Bodhisattvas

This work is one of the thirty-two existing examples from the statue group in Baoqingsi Temple, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China. It was distinctively expressed in early Tang style which absorbed the Indian influence. The middle statue was presented with hands and fingers in the position of Sokuchi’in mudra. This pose is related to the statue of Śākyamuni in Budh Gaya in India where he had completed self-discipline and enlightened to the truth. {i=>[bhūmisparśa mudrā], content=>[Thirty-two stone relief sculptures are currently known to have come from Baoqingsi Temple in the present-day city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, China. Though they have been dispersed around the world (7 in China, 21 in Japan, and 4 in the US), six of them remain at the temple in a seven-story hexagonal pagoda reconstructed in the early Qing dynasty (1644–1911).

Each is carved from a single block of limestone. The renderings reflect styles from the early Tang dynasty (618–907) that incorporated elements from Indian sculptural modes, including the round faces, broad shoulders, slender waists, and diaphanous robes clinging to the bodies. The central seated buddha is making the earth-touching mudra (Skt. , ) with his hands, revealing the sculpture depicts the moment the historical buddha Śākyamuni attained enlightenment in the village of Bodh Gaya in India. The selection of this scene reflects Indian influence as well.]}

— Museum description: Nara National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.