The remote ancient Buddhist site of Bururuvagala (which means ‘stone Buddha images’ in Sinhalese) is thought to date from the 10th century, when Mahayana Buddhism dominated parts of Sri Lanka. Carved into the rock face is a huge 16m-high Buddha figure, with three smaller figures on either side. Avalokiteśvara ('Lord who looks down') is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Portrayed in different cultures as either male or female, Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism, as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism.

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Keywords: 2004, asia, asian, avalokiteshvara, avalokitesvara, bodhisattva, buddhism, buddhist, buduruvagala, ceylon, ceylonese, david, henley, lanka, lankan, mahayana, photograph, prince, religion, serendib, sri, sudana, taprobane, tara