Mahayana Room

The Mahayana Room showcases artefacts that are commonly sighted at places where the practice of Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent. Most of these are from China, Japan, Korea and parts of South East Asia. Because Mahayana Buddhism talks about the "three bodies of the Buddha form" or Tri-kaya , the iconography in Mahayana Buddhism tends to be more varied in forms; there are many different Buddhas in addition to Buddha Sakyamuni as in the case of Theravada Buddhism. The trio of Buddha Sakyamuni, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha are often sighted in monasteries. So too, are Bodhisattvas such as Avalokitesvara ("Guan Yin"), Manjusri, Ksitigarbha and Sambantabadra are also popularly seen flanking the Buddhas in monasteries.