Jowo

The two Jowo Statues are the Jowo Mikyo Dorje of Akshobhya Buddha, and the Jowo Shakyamuni Rinpoche (Tibetan, Wylie: jo bo rin po che) of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Jowo Mikyo Dorje was brought from Bodhgaya to Nepal, where it stayed in Swayambhunath at Kimdol Vihar. It was then brought to Tibet c. 622, by the Nepali princess Bhrikuti, who is credited with the spread of Buddhism to Tibet. The Jowo Mikyo Dorje was placed in the Jokhang Temple, or the Rasa Trulnag, which was purpose built in c. 640 for the statue. The Jowo Shakyamuni Rinpoche was brought to Tibet later by the Tang Chinese princess Wencheng, and is a large 7th-century statue of Gautama Buddha for which the Ramoche was built. Both Jowo statues influenced the tradition of Tibetan art and are among the most sacred statues in Tibet. The locations of the statues were switched, and the Jowo Shakyamuni is housed in the Jokhang chapel of the Rasa Trulnang, the Tsuklakhang Temple, and the Jowo Mikyo Dorje is in the Ramoche, both in Lhasa.

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).