Jivajivaka Two-headed Bird, Tang dynasty, 7-8 century. Gilt bronze. Private Collection © Miho Museum 

This gilt bronze statue of a bird in prayer has a tenon, suggesting that it may have been used as some kind of decoration. The bird (jiva-jivaka) is referred to as a “two-headed bird” in the 59th chapter of “Fo benxing ji jing,” the sutra on the deeds of Sakyamuni Buddha. It also appears as a “life-sharing bird” in the 3rd chapter of “Za baocang jing,” the sutra that recounts stories of Sakyamuni’s previous lives. According to these sutras, the two-headed bird with one body lived in the Himalayas. One of the heads ate a wonder flower to quench the hunger and thirst of the shared body while the other was asleep. When the second one awoke and knew this, it grew indignant and ate a flower while the first one was sleeping, but the flower was poisonous. This story teaches how great is benevolence and how dangerous arbitrary indignation. The facial features of the two heads of the bird in prayer are engraved in simple lines, but a delicate difference in mood can be detected between the expressions on the two faces.