CHINA, CHENGDE, XUMI FUSHOU TEMPLE, QIANLONG PERIOD, 1779-1780

Seated in vajrasana in a soft pink aureole filled with fine gold lines with the effect of radiating light, the bodhisattva Vajraraksha floats above an idealized landscape of blue and green that draws focus to the many colors adorning the body of this peaceful deity. With blue hair, a white face, red arms and torso, and blue legs, Vajraraksha’s complexion matches the lotus that supports him. Amitayus floats in the sky above, holding a long-life vase, flanked by dakinis making offerings to the bodhisattvas. Lotus flowers holding a perfume-filled conch, a mirror, and a pair of cymbals sit between White Tara and Green Tara who, similarly, sit upon lotuses floating above the landscape.
A retinue figure from the Vajradhatu mandala, Vajraraksha cannot be mistaken for any other as he is the one and only figure who holds a shirt of armor. The bodhisattva appears here in the appearance described within the pantheon of three hundred deities composed by the principal Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the Qing court, Changkya Rolpai Dorje (1717-1786). Vajraraksha sits next to Amoghasiddhi in the northern portion of the palace of the Vajradhatu mandala.