Art (@[email protected])

Attached: 3 images Do any religions see gender as changeable? Yes. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who attains enlightenment or reaches buddhahood, but chooses—out of compassion—to delay their personal nirvana to help others reach buddhahood. Avalokiteśvara is one, widely venerated across Asia and depicted in metalwork, wood, or stone figures, as these images show. The Avalokiteśvara's curvaceous yet male figure was made of brass inlaid with precious stones in 1300s Nepal, for a patron in Tibet. This same Bodhisattva is venerated in China, but there he is renamed Guanyin and is often female. This Guanyin is wood—carved, lacquered, painted, and guilded—from the 1200s for a temple in Shanxi. Another bodhisattva, Tārā, said she'd reincarnate as female until more women reach enlightenment. For some, Tārā is a reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara himself. This shows gender as a choice. Tārā's stone figure was sculpted in the 1100s in Bihar, India. #art #design #lgbt #trans #VictoriaAndAlbert #Buddhism