Avalokiteshvara

Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

This colossal modern statue of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, carries his traditional iconography of lotus stem and water pot; as usual, the Buddha Amitabha is depicted in meditation within the Bodhisattva's crown. In another nod to tradition, the steps of the altar are flanked by a pair of guardstones.