Necklace with wooden pendant Avalokiteshvara

Necklace made with a meticulously carved wooden pendant depicting Avalokiteshvara 'with the thousand arms'. 

Avalokiteshvara is one of the most well-known and perhaps most highly regarded figure in the Buddhist group of "Eight Boddhisattva's". A boddhisattva has reached the state of bodhicita, but consciously chooses not yet to take that final step towards becoming a fully enlightened buddha. Instead choosing to stay close to the eartly realms to assist others on their paths, driven to do so out of a great sense of compassion. 

This characteristic is exactly what Avalokiteshvara embodies; he represents the ultimate, selfless and unconditional compassion of the Buddha and is often seen as the earthly manifestation of Amitabha Buddha.

Avalokiteshavara is associated with one of the most well-known mantra's; "Om Mani Padme Hum". Reciting this mantra calls upon him and our own inner buddha-nature and opens the way to compassion to see this in all sentient beings.

Avalokiteshavara is known in many different traditions and regions, known by different names and in different manifestations. In Tibetan he is for example known as Chenrezig and in China as Guanyin (who is most often depicted as female).

On this pendant Avalokiteshvara is shown in one of his typical depictions; "Avalokiteshvara with the thousand arms". The story tells that at one point the enormous weight of the task he took upon himself, not to rest until all living creatures have been freed from samsara, made his body shatter in tiny pieces. Amitabha Buddha restored his body, giving him a thousand arms to be able to reach out to all of those in need. And an all-seeing eye in the palms of all his thousand hands, to be able to notice all the suffering in the world.

The pendant is carved from from dark brown agarwood, also known as oudh, scarlet tree or eagle tree. Properties that are attributed to this slightly aromatic kind of wood (the smell is subtle, sweet and spicy and reminds somewhat of leather) are for example; it calms the nervous system and facilitates transition to the afterlife. Also in christianity, especially catholicism, agarwood has a special meaning. 

The pendant is hung on a simple necklace made from brown nylon cord, together with some small wooden beads. Total length of the necklace, measured without the pendant, is approximately 62 centimeters. Total weight is 24 grams. Sizes from the pendant; 6 centimeters high, 3,8 centimeters wide and 8 millimeters thick.

Only one available.