Chenrezig also known Avalokiteshvara is the most popular deity in Tibet. Chenrezig is the deity representing complete, universal compassion and his mantra is the famous: OM MANI PEDME HUNG (Tibetan pronunciation). Chenrezig is the patron saint of Tibet. The Chenrezig practice, for example, is done every night by the children attending Thrangu Rinpoche’s elementary school in Nepal. The practice of Chenrezig has spread across the world and is practiced daily in many Buddhist centers. The Dalai Lama is the most famous person to be said to embody compassion and an emanation of Chenrezig.

The story goes that Chenrezig vowed that until all sentient beings had reached enlightenment, he would not think for a moment about his own happiness. If he did so he said, “may my cracked into ten pieces and my body be split into a thousand pieces.” He recited OM MANI PEDME HUNG and went into deep meditation. When he arose, he saw that so few people had been helped and despaired and his body cracked into 10 pieces and 1,000 parts.

This particularly beautiful painting clearly shows (the computer with only 72 dpi) does not do it justice. We can clearly see all ten peaceful heads with the eleventh wrathful protector head and Amitabha above these heads because Amitabha is the wisdom family of Chenrezig. He is holding not only the crystal rosary, lotus flower, and wish-fulfilling jewel at his heart, but is also holding vase, bow and arrow, dharma wheel. Finally, we see the 1,000 hands each with a wisdom eye to see all the suffering of sentient beings.

All of these photos are very high quality (300 dpi) and free of copyright restrictions.

You can download the medium size (4 by 6 inches) or the large size (8 x 10 inches) or both.

You can also order a print of this photo in the Dharma Photos section of this website.