Iconography
The main figure is Ratnasambhava, at the top corners are Maudgalyayana and Shariputra, Shakyamuni's two most famous disciples; at the bottom are two unknown Pure Land deities and a brown skinned primordial Buddha. Ratnasambhava, the Jewel-born, works on our miserliness and arrogant pride, the defensive attitude that tries to cloak its insecurity within the imposing disguise of self-aggrandizement or haughty aloofness (who wants to admit that they have problems in this area?). Ratnasambhava is one of the Dhyani Buddhas, component factors of the Adi Buddha. By meditating and identifying with Ratnasambhava one will become familiar with that part of the ur-Buddha. Here he is attired as a lord and thus is teaching, this depiction is called Caturbhuja Ratnasambhava.
The hands of Ratnasambhava's back two arms are in the blessing mudra and are working in harmony with the front two hands. The front left hand holds the red Kaustubha gem, this is a magical gem; with 8 magical properties: it cools when the days are hot, warms when the days are cold, illuminates the darkness of night, causes rain to fall or a spring to appear when one is thirsty, it brings to fruition what ever the bearer desires, it heals emotional afflictions, and cures all of the diseases of those who are in its range of its light and lastly prevents untimely death as in fathers passing on before sons. In this case, this is offering the gift of wisdom and enlightenment now, in an instant; this is evidenced by the front right hand that is in the finger snapping mudra. Ratnasambhava is wearing the Queen's round earrings. The Queen is one of the Seven Precious possessions of Chakravartin. The term Chakravartin, or Wheel Turner in Hinduism refers to an ideal ruler, but in Buddhism, Chakravartin has come to mean a Buddha whose all-encompassing teachings are universally true. Chakravartin has an army of 4 divisions, infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. Chakravartin is the lineage of 25 Kulika kings or enlightened monarchs, the 25th of which will finally defeat the "non-believers." The Precious Queen's heavy earrings are taken as a symbol of comprehension of the Buddha’s teachings. The weight of the earrings would have caused the wearers earlobes to elongate. The long earlobes of the Buddha are a symbol of her detachment from all things earthly. The Queen speaks the truth, using no frivolous words and holding no false vices.
Surrounding Ratnasambhava's head and body are a green and gold aureoles respectively. The green contains radiant 4 petaled flowers, representing the four Noble Truths. This starts the middle way and is the first teaching of Buddha. 1. Life is suffering. 2. Ignorance is the cause of suffering. 3. The cessation of suffering is the goal of life because it transcends pains and pleasure. 4. The way to the cessation of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which aligns with the eight spokes of the Dharma Wheel. The gold aureole has side by side Cintamani: Cintamani are wish-granting jewels and additionally represent wisdom. When depicted in sets of 3, as they are at the bottom of the painting, they represent the body, speech and mind of Buddha such as the practitioner may possess. Cintamani are also referred to as the “Thinking Jewel” and symbolize the importance of teaching and as well as the enlightened mind.
