Jowo (statue)

Jowo Rinpoche ( Tib: jo bo rin po che, also: Jowo Shakyamuni, " Precious Lord" ) is the name of a 1.5 meter high gilded bronze statue of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama as a twelve -year-old prince. She is worshiped in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and is considered one of the most sacred statues of Tibet.

History

According to one tradition, the statue was created during the lifetime of the Buddha from the deity Visvakarman after the counsel of Indra and later came from India to China. The Chinese Princess Wen Cheng is said to have then brought in the 7th century on the occasion of her marriage to Songtsen Gampo as a dowry to Lhasa and also selected the site of Holy Communion.

After discovered by Giuseppe Tucci source the original statue to have been destroyed in 1717 during the invasion of the Dsungars, in which case the venerated statue today would be regarded as a replica.