Item: Teacher (Lama) - Karmapa 2, Karma Pakshi
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1800 - 1899 |
| Lineages | Kagyu, Karma (Kagyu) and Buddhist |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton |
| Collection | Field Museum of Natural History |
Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa (1206-1283): teacher to the Mongol emperor of China and the first generally acknowledged incarnate lama of Tibet.
Kar ma pa 
Biographical Details
Karma Pakshi is dark in colour (as described in the biographical texts) with one face and two hands. He has a thin mustache and a black goatee protruding beneath the chin. Atop the head is the famous black hat of the Karmapas. The two arms are extended forward with the hands over the knees in the 'earth touching' gesture as is typical of Karma Pakshi - following the iconographic model of Marpa Chokyi Lodro - the founder of the Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. With the legs in vajra posture, seated atop a blue mat and an ornate chair of Chinese design, he sits in the foreground of a green landscape.
At the top right and left are two figures wearing monastic robes and the red teaching hats of the Kagyu tradition.
Jeff Watt, 2-2010
Tradition: Karma Kagyu Main Page
Teacher: Karmapa, Karma Pakshi Main Page
Collection of The Field Museum of Natural History
Collection of the Field Museum of Natural History (Painting)
Collection of the Field Museum (Best of Collection)