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"Glorious gentle one" - he is the Bodhisattva
of Compassion and his name means " he who gazes upon the
world with suffering in his eyes". The Dalai Lama is considered
a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara and pictures of the two are
interchangeable. The current Dalai Lama is the 74th manifestation
of Avalokiteshvara.
His body is white and he sits on a lotus blossom.
He holds rosary beads and a flower of compassion and clutches
a gem to his heart. A deer skin is draped over his left shoulder.
There is also a powerful 11 headed, 1000 armed version.
His head is said to have explored when confronted with a myriad
of problems to solve. Each of his 1000 arms has an eye in the
palm. His eight main arms hold a bow and arrow, lotus, rosary,
vase, wheel and staff.
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