Standing crowned Buddha with four scenes of his life

The historical Buddha stands before us, fully enlightened, yet he wears the jewels and crown of his earlier princely life. Similarly paradoxical is the figure’s seeming androgyny. This is an image of the awakened state itself, unbounded by dualities. It is, at once, the Buddha and all buddhas.

As you stand before this figure, recall that your mind has the capacity to encompass object and subject simultaneously. The image is both the object of our contemplation and, if seen from the right perspective, a likeness of its beholder’s buddha-nature as well.