The Bonpo deity Kunzang Galwa Dupa

Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Bon Art, 1300–1900
In Mahayana, or Great Vehicle Buddhism, the figure of the bodhisattva takes on unprecedented importance. In general, a bodhisattva is any person who has vowed to save all beings from samsara, the cycle of suffering, before entering the bliss of nirvana. Since bodhisattvas remain in samsara, they are often depicted in princely rather than monastic garb and can often be distinguished by their crowns., Kunzang Galwa Dupa, the principal deity in the indigenous Bon religion of Tibet, has five heads and ten hands. The hands in front of his chest hold sun and moon discs inscribed with the Tibetan letters A and Ma; these symbols help us to recognize this image as Bon rather than Buddhist. Kunzang Galwa Dupa also holds the swastika, the Bon equivalent of the Buddhist ritual object (vajra) or thunderbolt.