Buddhist Guardian Figure (Dvarapala)

Throughout Asia, Buddhist temples are protected from malevolent spirits by various guardian figures, some local, others universal. In fact, many Buddhist monks were renowned for their ability to convert local spirits into protectors of the Buddha’s teachings. This figure is one of a pair of universally protective deities known in Chinese as Renwang, or “benevolent kings.” Clad in loincloths and scarves, with the fierce demeanors and muscular bodies of Central Asian warriors, they were placed at the gates of East Asian temples to protect the sacred precincts. One member of this pair is depicted with an open mouth, as though pronouncing the Sanskrit syllable ah; the other (seen here), with mouth closed, seems to intone the syllable hum. Like the Greek letters alpha and omega in Christian doctrine, these syllables represent the beginning and end of the cosmos in Buddhist theology. This figure likely would have held a vajra, a scepter signifying omnipotence.