The Mandala Roof Balcony of Lhakang Chenmo Monastery, Sakya Town, Tibet, is located on the 2nd to top floor and faces in towards the central open courtyard below. The mandala paintings are subject to a tremendous degree of weathering because they are exposed to the elements with only a roof above them. The subjects of the mandalas follow closely to the iconographic programs of the Shalu and Gyantse Monasteries.
The Main Temple of Lhakang Chenmo Monastery, Sakya Town, Tibet. This set of images is still very large and needs to be divided into smaller groupings of images. The labeling will take some time to complete. The famous Temple Pillars have already been divided into a separate grouping.
The Bamo Lhakang Temple is located on the outer wall of the Lhakang Chenmo Monastery in the north-west corner tower. The various rooms contain a number of clay sculpture of famous Throne Holders of Sakya. The remaining rooms and confusing corridors house small protector chapels for the Three Witches (Bamo) of Sakya. The numerous wall towers of Lhakang Chenmo also serve as residences for senior monks and abbots.
This is a great introductory article describing the phallic art of Bhutan. The name of the article is "In Bhutan, friendly phalluses painted on houses scare off evil spirits (NSFW)".
The custom of painting phallic imagery on the outside walls of Bhutanese homes is believed to ward off negative spirits and protect against obstacles. Although the origins of the practice in Bhutan are generally attributed to an eccentric teacher named Drugpa Kunleg, it is more likely that the custom is far older and related to folk culture and marital customs.
The Himalayan Art Resources team have been asked to write a series of introductory postings on Buddhist iconography for the Tricycle Magazine Blog. See below for more information and links.
"Buddhist practice and Buddhist art have been inseparable in the Himalayas ever since Buddhism arrived to the region in the eighth century. But for the casual observer it can be difficult to make sense of the complex iconography. Not to worry—Himalayan art scholar Jeff Watt is here to help. In this "Himalayan Buddhist Art 101" series, Jeff will make sense of this rich artistic tradition by presenting a weekly image from the Himalayan Art Resources archives and explaining its role in the Buddhist tradition." (Tricycle Blog).
The First Five Topics are Listed Below:
- Calm Abiding 5, April 2012
- Buddhas 12, April 2012
- Bodhisattvas 19, April, 2012
- Mandalas 26, April 2012
- Mandalas Part II 3, May 2012
Repeated images surrounding a central figure are common in Himalayan and Tibetan art. The images of paintings found on this page are only a selection from some of the larger museum collections on the HAR website.
The central subject can be almost any figure, a buddha, deity, or teacher. The surrounding subject can also be a repeat of the central subject or another figurative subject. The consistency is in the surrounding figures all being the same. Sometimes each figure is drawn individually by hand but more often the figures are created from a wood block stamping the outline of a number of figures at the same time or some other such mold to replicate the outline of a large number of images quickly and then painted to a greater or lesser degree.
The purpose of such paintings is to create large numbers of the same subject or deity. This in turn multiplies the amount of merit from creating a single holy image to a hundred-fold amount of merit from creating a hundred auspicious images.
The The Drolma Podrang (Palace) Stupa Room houses the remains of a number of Sakya Tridzins and important teachers of the Drolma Podrang branch of the Khon family of Sakya. Most of the bodies are sealed inside the many stupas. The room is located on a second floor of the main Lhakang Chenmo Temple, Sakya, Tibet.
The Puntsog Podrang (Palace) Stupa Room houses the remains of a number of Sakya Tridzins and important teachers of the Puntsog Podrang branch of the Khon family of Sakya. Most of the bodies are sealed inside the many stupas. The room is located on a second floor of the main Lhakang Chenmo Temple, Sakya Town, Tibet.
There are six principle texts belonging to the Yoga Tantra Classification. Most of the texts only have one or two associated mandalas, however the Sarva Durgati Parishodhana has twelve mandalas. The Namasangiti Tantra is known for having seven principal mandalas of Manjushri.
Yoga Tantra Texts:
- Sarvatatagata Tattvasamgraha Nama Mayahana Sutra [Toh 479] Vajradhatu Mandala, Trailokyavijaya Mandala
- Vajrashekhara Mahaguhya Yogatantra [Toh 480]
- Shri Paramadya Samkshipta Kula Mandala [Toh 487] Vajrasattva Mandala 1, Vajrasattva Mandala 2
- Sarvadurgati Parishodhana Tejorajasya Tatagatasya Arhato Samyaksambuddhasya Kalpaikadesha Nama [Toh 483]
- Sarvadurgati Parishodhana Tejorajasya Tatagatasya Arhato Samyaksambuddhasya Kalpa Nama [Toh 485]
- Manjushri Jnanasattvasya Paramarta Namasangiti [Toh 360] Dharmadhatu Vagishvara, Samkshiptakula Guhyaka Manjushri
The Charya Tantra Classification System, although following the same basic Kriya classification of the Three Buddha Families, has very few actual texts and even fewer deities or mandalas. Further to that, not all of the Tibetan Traditions agree on the text titles found under Charya Tantra classification. The Sakya Tradition includes The Manjushri Mulakalpa and Siddhaikavira Tantras as Charya. Most of the other Tibetan Buddhist schools do not. There is variation between the different Tibetan Tantra classification systems based mostly on three points: [1] how the Tantric literature classifies itself, [2] chronological time period, and [3] later religious traditions.
Charya Tantras:
1. Tatagata Family:
- Maha Vairochana Abhisambhodi Tantra [Toh 494]
- Manjushri Mula Kalpa [p102]
- Siddhaikavira Tantra [p103]
2. Padma Family:
(There are no texts translated from an Indian language into Tibetan from this classification)
3. Vajra Family:
- Vajrapani Abhisheka Tantra [Toh 496]
- Nilambaradhara Vajrapani Tantra [Toh 498]
- Vajrapatala Tantra [Toh 499]
The Three Lords constitute the second level of deity classification according to the Kriya Tantra system. At the top level of classification are the Three Buddhas: Shakyamuni, Amitabha, and Akshobhya who are the heads of the Three Buddha Families - Tatagata, Padma and Vajra. In the Kriya system there are as many as eight levels of deity classification for each of the Three Families: 1. Buddha of the Family, 2. Lord of the Family, 3. Mother of the Family, 4. Ushnisha of the Family, 5. Wrathful Deity of the Family, 6. Messengers of the Family, 7. Bodhisattvas of the Family, and 8. Nagas & Yakshas of the Family.
The Three Lords of the World (Bodhisattva):
Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani.
Note that the Three Lords: Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani are not protector deities. In many non-Tibetan publications it is common to see the Three Lords mistakenly referred to as Protectors. The confusion is based on the Tibetan word 'gonpo' meaning 'lord' which is also used as a term for the class of Mahakala deities and others. The confusion also arises from Tibetan and Himalayan folk culture where a cairn is located at the entrance to a village and referred to as the shrine of the 'Gonpo Sum' - Three Lords (protectors). The village shrines most likely predate Buddhism and were originally unrelated to the Three Lords of Tantric Buddhism.
Tantric Buddhism can be divided into two different schools. The first and earliest is the Nyingma Tradition. The second are the group of traditions collectively known as the Sarma (New) Schools. The New Schools are made up of the Kadam, Sakya, Marpa Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, Jonang, Gelug and others. According to the Sarma Schools Kriya Tantra is the first of the four classifications of Buddhist Tantra: Kriya, Charya, Yoga, Anuttarayoga.
Kriya itself is divided into the Three Families: 1. Tatagata, 2. Padma, and 3. Vajra. Those are followed by a general category of Tantras applicable to all three families. The three families are each divided into sub-categories. The Tatagata Family has the largest number with eight categories. The Padma and Vajra Families have five categories each based on the first eight categories of the Tatagata Family. The majority of texts catalogued as belonging to the Kriya Tantra are classified under the categories of the Three families. Very few texts belong to the general fourth category.
The Three Families of Kriya Tantra:
1. Tatagata Family | 2. Padma Family | 3. Vajra Family
The Tantra Classifications page has been updated along with the sub-pages. More work still needs to be done making this a work in-progress.
Tantra Classification: in Vajrayana Buddhism there are different ways of enumerating, cataloguing and categorizing the many different texts in Tantra literature. Several different systems made their way to the Himalayas and Tibet. At the present time there are two principal systems in use, the Nyingma and the Sarma. The Tibetan word Nyingma literally means old traditions of Tantra and Sarma means the new traditions of Tantra. The new Tantra traditions are composed of the Kadampa, Sakya, Marpa Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, Pacifying of Padampa Sanggye, Jonang and the Rwa Tradition. The Gelug Tradition was not included amongst these formative traditions because it was not in direct receipt of any of the tantric traditions from India but was a later synthesis of the already mentioned traditions in Tibet.
The Greyscale Main Page for Figurative and General Subjects has been updated with many new additions.
On the catalogue page for each of the images is a secondary image that is greyscaled (sometimes coloured) and numbered allowing for easy identification of all of the figures in the composition. So far only a small selection of paintings in the collection have had the greyscale and numbering treatment however more are being added all the time.
Shakyamuni Buddha and depictions of the fifteen miracles at Shravasti. According to the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha he once stayed at Shravasti in Northern India and over the course of fifteen days performed fifteen miracles or magical displays. Generally paintings of the miracles are included in the sets of paintings depicting the life story. There is some evidence that suggests that on occasion the Fifteen Miracles may have been treated as a separate topic from the general life story and painted separately.
Paintings:
- Life Story Painting (painting set)
- Life Story Block Print (from a block print set)
- Life Story Painting (painting set)
- Three Miracles (Fifteen) (from a set of fifteen miracles)
- Fifteen Miracles (from a set of block prints)
- Others....
This painting depicts the 7th Dalai Lama Kalzang Gyatso (1708-1757). The composition belongs to a set of likely seven paintings depicting secret Tantric practices. At this time, this composition is the only known example from the full set of paintings (see detail images). There are several other known sets with the same identical composition. The most complete set is in the collection of Tibet House, New Delhi.
It is believed that the central figure is Kalzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama surrounded by siddha figures and Tantric symbolism. The entire set of seven paintings must be understood as a whole to be able to understand individual compositions such as this painting.
According to the Tibet House painting set the known images and compositions are:
1. Avalokiteshvara
2. Kalzang Gyatso
3. Kalzang Gyatso (?)
4. Siddha Figure (Kalzang Gyatso?)
5. Chakrasamvara Meditational Deity
6. Kalachakra Meditational Deity
7. (Unknown subject)
Surrounding the figure of Kalzang Gyatso there are two sets of eight siddha figures. The outer eight siddhas are named along with the names of eight sacred locations known as a pita (pitha). There are twenty-four & thirty-two sacred pitas in India that are associated with Tantric places of worship. The twenty-four locations are also code names for twenty-four points in the physical body of the Tantric practitioner - the Body Mandala. Two of the other paintings in the complete set have an additional eight siddhas per painting accounting for the remaining sixteen sacred pitas of India (see the Kalachakra and Siddha figure paintings).
The eight siddhas inhabiting the inner rocky enclosure do not have any name inscriptions and remain unidentified.
In front of the throne seat is a table with various offerings arranged which include the five meats, alcohol and a large white 'torma' - ritual food offering. The five goddesses in dancing postures located at the lower front are the Sense Offering Goddesses representing [1] touch, [2] smell, [3] sight, [4] sound, and [5] taste. (See the numbered image).
There are a number of hidden images placed in the composition. How many can you find?
The Bhutan Main Page has been updated with many new site locations, write-ups and images - murals, painting, sculpture and architecture.
Ariana Maki Photographic Archive (Bhutan):
- Bumthang Tang Mebartsho
- Bumthang Ura Dzong
- Chendebji Chorten Trongsa
- Gangtey Gonpa Wangdue Phodrang
- Paro Chumphu
- Paro Dzong
- Paro Gorinang
- Paro Shrine
- Taktsang
- Third King Chorten Thimphu
- Miscellaneous
- Miscellaneous 2
- Bumthang Chamkhar Tamzhing
- Paro Dzongdrakha
- Paro Kyichu
- Paro Thongdrol
- Thimphu Chang Gankha Lhakhang
- Thimphu Tango Shedra
Padmasambhava life story paintings can be found in sets of compositions, often nine in number, or they can be found as wall murals in temples. It is very common to find sets depicting the principal form of Padmasambhava along with the Eight Forms, or manifestations, in single compositions.
It is not all that common to find Padmasambhava life story paintings and the Eight Forms in a single composition. On this page there are three individual paintings and one image of a partial wall mural depicting the life story and Eight Forms. Two of the images are from Tibet and two are from Bhutan.
The most detailed of the images is HAR #90161. The painting has some damage but the integrity and beauty of the painting and creativity of the artist has not been lost. The over-all composition is wonderful but the true magnificence of the painting is in the details. The composition of the painting is also unique because the Eight Forms follow the chronology of events in the story where as the other three images on the page do not.
It has become, over the last several hundred years, the artistic convention to arrange the Eight Forms of Padmasambhava according to iconographic hierarchy rather than to follow the strict chronology of the life story. Typically the celestial forms of Padmasambhava appear at the top, followed by the earthly forms and lastly the two wrathful forms at the bottom left and right of a composition.
The Padmasambhava Main Page has been updated and organized.
Along with Trisong Detsen and Shantarakshita, Padmasambhava is considered one of the principal early teachers to bring Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, Padmasambhava has numerous forms representing outer, inner and secret aspects of his spiritual being.
Within the Oral (Kama) Tradition of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava was born in Northern India as the son of a king, or minister. In the Revealed Treasure (Terma) Tradition he was born on a lotus in Dhanakosha lake as an emanation of the Buddha Amitabha. There is even some evidence to suggest that Padmasambhava came from South India and that he was the brother-in-law of the Indian Abbott Shantarakshita, builder of the first monastery in Tibet. (See Padmasambhava Life-story Painting).
Padmasambhava: Forms & Subjects:
- Padmasambhava Outline
- Padmasambhava Iconography Sub-sets Outline
- Life Story Paintings (Miscellaneous)
- Life Story Painting Set: Shechen
- Life Story & Eight Forms (Single Painting)
- Eight Forms (All Images)
- Eight Forms Outline
- Eight Forms: Dege Blockprints
- Eight Forms: Prajnaparamita Text
- Eight Forms: Tibet House Set
- Terma Representations
- Totreng Tsal: Five Forms
- Meditational Forms Outline
- Copper Coloured Mountain
- Copper Coloured Mountain (Chogyur Lingpa)
- Yeshe Tsogyal
- Twenty-five Disciples
- Others....
Power Deities are the third category of the four traditional Tantric Buddhist categories of deities according to activity type, or function. The function and nature of power in Tantric practice is to accomplish tasks and wishes quickly. Power deities are most often red in colour and generally either peaceful in appearance or slightly peaceful and slightly wrathful. A certain element of danger for the practitioner is associated with power deity practices in Tantric Buddhism. (See Power Deities Outline Page).
There are Four principal Tantric Buddhist Activities, or functions as described in the Anuttarayoga Tantric literature: 1. Peaceful Activities, 2. Increasing Activities, 3. Powerful Activities, and 4. Wrathful Activities. The four activities are primarily associated with the two highest classifications of Tantra, Anuttarayoga and Yoga.
There are a further ten well known Tantric categories of deities according to function. The ten span all four levels of Tantra but primarily focus on the two lowest classes - Kriya and Charya.
The Kriya and Charya Tantra levels have their own unique system of classifying deities according to hierarchy and function - all though it is not well known outside of scholarly circles. The four activities and the general ten functions are broader and inclusive of all four Tantra levels albeit less precise.
