Celebrating Buddha's Sambodhi

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The Buddha has an oval face, urna or circle between the eyebrows, long earlobes, ushnisha on the top of the head, and a jewel on the top of the head and so on. His half closed meditative eyes, smiling face convey his love and compassion for all suffering beings. His robes cover both of his shoulders with bare breast. There is a halo and mandorla, behind his head and body respectively.

The area outside the circle is plain and painted in silver colour, while the walls of the square are decorated with stylized designs. There are four gateways in the square and over the gates are houses in which auspicious offerings have been shown. The area outside the square is filled with the images of stylized clouds and flowers. The square is surrounded with two circles. The outer circle is fire fence which protects the inner residence from evil spirits. The inner circle is of auspicious lotus petals. Here the spiritual realm begins and one enters the mandala.

The upper center is rendered with the figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Bodhisattva of compassion and the embodiment of the syllable mantra om mani padme hum. The upper left corner portrays the figure of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, who is holding a wisdom sword and a lotus flower in his hands, respectively. The upper right corner is filled with the figure of Green Tara, a saviouress goddess who helps suffering beings to cross the ocean of existence. She made a vow to conquer evil. She is seated in latitasana on a lotus throne in clouds, her right hand is in vara-mudra, and her left hand is in the gesture of protection and holding the stem of a lotus flower. She is adorned with a crown, ornaments of a Bodhisattva, flowing scarf and dhoti. Bottom left corner is filled with the figure of White Tara, goddess of long life. She is seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus throne. Her right hand is in vara-mudra, while the left hand is in blessing gesture and also holding the stem of a lotus flower. Wrathful Vajrapani is depicted at the bottom right corner. The composition is fine and the silver colour is dominating in the painting.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

Ben Meulenbeld, Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thankas, Holland, 2001

Lokesh Chandra, Transcendental Art of Tibet, Delhi, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

P.V. Bapat, 25, 00 Years of Buddhism, Delhi, 1956

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "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.