Padmasambhava as Suryaprabha (The Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava)

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Padmasambhava has eight manifestations, one for each of eight important actions he performed during his lifetime. Among them one is Suryaprabha (Rays of the sun) or Guru Nyi-ma-od-zer (the enlightening sun of darkness). It is said that during Padmasambhava's long life of many centuries, he had a phase of living in charnel grounds where he performed the ascetic and ecstatic yoga of a great yogi. He taught the Dharma to dakinis for five years and thence came to be known as Nyi-ma-od-zer or Rays of the sun, one of his eight manifestations.

He is shown here seated at ease with legs crossed in three-quarter profile on an animals skin on a lotus throne. At the back of Suryaprabha is the mount Potala stupa. There is large yogi's container on the right of Suryaprabha. He wears the jeweled skull-crown earrings, necklace, armlets, bracelets, anklets, tiger-skin dhoti, and cemetery ash. These symbolize his attainment of the six transcendent virtues as well as his mastery of the subtle subjectivity of universal bliss. He holds his khatvanga, yogi's staff, its trident tip symbolizing his control of the three channels of the yogi subtle nervous system; its skull, freshly severed head, and shrunken head symbolizing his transmutation of death, the between state, and life into the three Buddha-bodies of truth, beatitude, and emanation; its small vase symbolizing the transmutation of the energy of passion into wisdom; and its vajra cross below the vase symbolizing the omnipresence of his voidness-realizing, compassionate orgasmic bliss. His left hand is held down in the threat gesture.

Suryaprabha's charnel ground is depicted below his seat, which is represented by dismembered corpses, being devoured by wild animals etc. and an impaled person. At the apex a Nyingma lama is seated. There are two large trees on the left. A Chinese style flying deity is depicted in clouds in the upper right corner. On the right, near the throne of Suryaprabha, perhaps one of his consorts is standing and behind her a siddha is seated on a throne. A siddha and a dakini are depicted in the bottom left corner, while a Nyingma lama is in the right with scripture.

The background of the painting is brilliantly painted with mountainous landscape, high peaks, covered with snow, rocks, lakes, natural vegetation and clouds.

References:

L.A. Waddell, Buddhism & Lamaism of Tibet, New Delhi, 1979 (reprint)

M.M. Rhie & R.A.F. Thurman, World of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

This description by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Verma, Ph.D. His doctorate thesis being on the "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D)."

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.