Item: Teacher (Lama) - (unidentified, male, monastic)

A Dual-lineage Lamdre Painting

Two enthroned lamas gaze toward the center of this squarely-composed composition depicting a large host of human teachers and deities. Both central figures don the garb of esteemed lamas and hold lotus stems in each hand - a vajra and bell rest on those held by the teacher on the left while a flaming sword and book rest on those held by the teacher on the right. In contrast to the other figures in this composition, their identities are not revealed by inscriptions and their iconography is common. The deities in union perched on a lotus between the two lama’s heads are also unlabeled, although easily recognizable as Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini. Three labeled teachers float upon lotuses in the negative space between the top of the central lamas’ throne-back and the top register of figures. The top register is composed of labeled human teachers and deities with the primordial buddha Vajradhara at center. Columns filled with images of additional labeled teachers descend down either side of the composition. The lowermost register depicts labeled human figures on either end and a host of labeled deities appear between them: Maha Ganapati, Kurukulla, and Takkiraja (“The Three Red Ones”), followed by Gonpo, Lhamo, and Yellow Jambhala. The first eight figures in one of the dual-lineages depicted here (moving counterclockwise beginning with Vajradhara), are easily identifiable based on the inscriptions: Vajravarahi, Mahasiddha Laksminkara, Mahasiddha Virupa, Mahasiddha Avadhutipa, Newar pandit Devakaracandra, Newar pandit Paindapatika, and Hungdu Karpa (also known as ‘Varendraruci’). The remaining figures’ inscriptions are not only abbreviated versions of their names, but are also quite abraded (consistent with the great age of this object), making it impossible to firmly determine their identities at this time. Fortunately, the first eight lineage holders fit perfectly into the lineage of Chinnamasta Vajrayogini (see Taranata’s Rinjung Gyatsa, pp. 1175-1176) so it is safe to assume that this portion of the composition depicts a Chinnamasta lineage. Essential Lamdre (Skt. Margapala) lineage holders are included therein, such as the main progenitor Virupa and the final figure and patron, Kunga Lekpa. The second lineage, which appears on the right side of this painting, is opaque in comparison to the first. One obstacle in illuminating this line of transmission is the challenge of determining who the final lineage holder on this side is (the figure in the bottom right corner of the composition). While the inscription beneath him begins with “byas sem” meaning “bodhisattva” in Tibetan, the remainder of the inscription is illegible. However, the greater difficulty in determining what teaching transmission is embedded here is not due to lack of clarity in the inscriptions (they are not abraded like those on the left side), but rather due to the names’ abbreviated forms which may be interpreted in a variety of ways and the dearth of resources including those names. The final lineage holder on the left side (the figure distinguished by a yellow meditation cushion and his unique mudra) is, on the contrary, easily identifiable based on both the inscription just below him as well as the dedicatory inscription containing his name on the backside of this painting.

An inscription on the backside of this fine painting - beneath the standard consecration verses from the Heart of Dependent Arising Sutra (Tib. rten ‘brel snying po) and Lantsa seed syllables - states that the present painting was sponsored by “Jangphugpa Lama Kunga Lekpa” for the fulfillment of his two guru’s wishes. While patron Jangchubpa Kunga Lekpa’s life dates are unknown, a number of allusions to the esteemed teacher places him in the first half of the fifteenth century (presumably born in the late-fourteenth). He is said, for instance, to have given novice vows, along with Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (b. 1382 - d.1456) to the Fourth Ngor Khenchen, Kunga Wangchuk (b.1424 - d.1478; see his biography on TreasuryofLives.org). Moreover, according to the biography of Sharchen Yeshe Gyeltsen (written by the aforementioned Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo), Kunga Lekpa once requested Sharchen’s presence at Jangphug monastery in Yeru (in Tsang Province). Sharchen’s documented visit to Jangphug where he gave teachings just prior to his death, tells us that Kunga Lekpa’s life dates coincided with Sharchen’s - and Sharchen is depicted as a primary guru (in the top right corner) in this painting. Finally, Kunga Lekpa is named by inscription as the patron of a Mandala of Yamari in the Shelly and Donald Rubin Collection, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 1041, which cannot be dated any later than the fifteenth-century for a variety of reasons. David Jackson corroborates these life dates for Jangphugpa Lama Kunga Lekpa in his exposition on the Mandala of Yamari in The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting, pp. 187-190, and provides the most detailed information available on the patron:

He certainly was one of the most respected teachers of tantra in his generation. In about 1419, he received the longest and most detailed version of the Path with the Fruit instructions [Lamdre] that Ngorchen ever gave, when Ngorchen visited Tingkye (gTing skyes) and Changphuk [Jangphug] in southern Tsang. Sixteen years later, Changphukpa [Jangphuga] took part in Kunga Wangchuk’s monastic ordination at the Sharpa lama palace in Sakya, which Ngorchen led. After that, Kunga Wangchuk studied the three Hevajra tantras under Kunga Lekpa at Changphuk (Byang phug), or the Northern Cave, which I presume was located south of Ngor in the vicinity of Tingkye....Kunga Lekpa of Changphuk was one of the most esteemed early advanced disciples of Ngorchen. By the mid-1430s his mastery of tantra was so highly regarded that the paramount expert of tantra, Ngorchen himself, entrusted him with training in tantric exegesis his nephew Kunga Wangchuk (who later became fourth abbot of Ngor). He certainly flourished during that period, though he may have lived even longer.

The widely respected commissioner of this painting, Jangphugpa Kunga Lekpa, is known to have commissioned a number of Belri (“Nepalese Style”) paintings between 1415 and 1435, providing a possible date range for this very painting (ibid, p. 190). The painting style is defined by a red- and blue-dominant palette, the quintessential vegetal scrollwork motif (referred to in Tibetan as “tree-leave cloud design”), and the use of registers. Although this style of painting is often associated with Ngor monastery, Jangphugpa had no official association with Ngor monastery and no Ngor officials are explicitly labeled as such in this composition - two facts that reminds us that this is not a “Ngor style” of painting. Rather, Ngor monastery is known for preserving the Belri style of painting until the sixteenth century. Prior to the sixteenth century, however, the Belri (“Nepalese Style”) had become a universal Tibetan style and this painting is demonstrative of the appeal to the greater Sakya realm. Given these facts and without identifying inscriptions, it is not possible to determine who the two lauded teachers are at the center of the present composition. Moreover, the present painting is likely part of a larger set of works depicting Lamdre lineage holders as the central figures and associated lineages surrounding them. Nonetheless, given the great influence he had on Jangphugpa’s Lamdre practice, it does seem likely that one of the large central figures in this painting is the first Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo.

This commission by the tantric master, Jangphugpa, was clearly a time-consuming project for the anonymous artist. Though it is impossible to exclude the possibility that the artist was a Newar, the hexagonal pattern that appears on the shirt of the large gray-haired teacher on the left is one rarely seen in Newar compositions, but frequently seen in Tibetan ones. The quality and painstaking detail in the present painting tells us that this artist must have been familiarized with the Belri style with the help of Newar prototypes or a masterful Newar painter. Every aureole, no matter the size, is detailed with the aforementioned scrolling foliate design while each halo within the deities’ and teachers’ aureoles are rendered with a lovely gradation of blue or green. The minimal amount of blue background revealed between the small red aureoles lining the painting’s perimeter is also embellished with small stippled floral designs, resulting in a completely full and rich composition that demands a closer look to fully appreciate. The impact of the composition and the gemstone-like color palette (derived from natural pigments) is, nonetheless, effective from a distance. These features, as well as the use of registers, can be observed on a number of central Tibetan paintings from the fifteenth century including a Chakrasamvara Mandala Assembly collected by Guiseppe Tucci at Sakya Monastery published in Klimberg-Salter’s Discovering Tibet–The Tucci Expeditions and Tibetan Painting, Milan, 2016, p. 180, no. 47 [19047], and a painting of Mahasiddha Virupa in the Carolyn and Wesley Halpert collection published on Himalayan Art Resources (item no. 90902), which exhibits the same exact balustrades on either side of the central figure.

Inscription on Verso in Tibetan Uchen script: dpon chen sku mched ‘di/ byang phug pa: bla ma kun dga’ legs pas: thugs daM gzhengs pa yin: maM ga laM// For these two great authorities, Jangphugpa Lama Kunga Lekpa sponsored this for the fulfillment of their wishes. May it be auspicious!

The dual-lineage figures of the painting are identified below (numbered according to the diagram):
1. Vajradhara
2. Vajravarahi
3. Mahasiddha Laksminkara
4. Mahasiddha Virupa
5. Mahasiddha Avadhutipa 6. Newar pandit, Devakaracandra or Shunyatasamadhivajra, 11th/12th century Newar pandit [P4CZ10577]
7. Newar pandit, Paindapatika Jinadatta, 10th/11th century [P4CZ15257]
8. Hungdu Karpa aka Varendraruci
9. [unidentifiable]
10. [unidentifiable]
11. [unidentifiable]
12. Manglampa Chenpo, 14th century? [P6943]
13. Sadonpa
14. [unidentifiable]
15. Kunga Lekpa aka Jangchubpa Lama Kunga Lekpa
16. Kenchen Ta[shi] Chub [unidentifiable]
17. Pandita Sadzana or Sazang Mati Panchen (1294-1376) aka Lodro Gyaltsen [P151]
18. Kunpa Cho-rin [unidentifiable]
19. Khasarpani
20. Dha Jangchub Sempa?
21. Shridhamaba?
22. Jangsem Dagyal, 12th century; “master of the avalokitesvara teachings; received the lam'bras teachings of the sa skya pa directly from sa chen kun dga' snying po“ [P1617]
23. Nying Phugpa, student of byang sem zla rgyal [P8LS13773]
24. Manglampa Chenpo, 14th century [P6943; duplicated on left side]
25. Jangchub Wang, 15th century? [P3057]
26. Jangchub Leg [unidentifiable]
27. Jangchug Choga [unidentifiable]
28. Gyaltsen Tashi [unidentifiable]
29. Wonchenpa [unidentifiable]
30. Jamgyang Tashi [unidentifiable]
31. Jangsem.... [unidentifiable]
32. Sharchen Yeshe Gyeltsen (b.1359 - d.1406), BDRC P3094
33. Jangchub Senge, 14th century [P3964]
34. Kal Wonpa [unidentifiable]

Laura A. Weinstein, 8-2021