Significant Episodes from the Life of Buddha

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He has an ornate nimbus of animals, and Dharmachakra, topping them, which represent paramitas. Flanking Shakyamuni are his two chief disciples, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, who are holding mendicant staff in their hands. The Buddha is surrounded with the scenes from his life which start from the upper left hand side of the painting, but so much detail is introduced that it has proved impossible to follow a consecutive order. However, the upper left corner depicts the scene of Queen Maya's dream, who is sleeping in he royal palace and a white elephant is approaching her, shown in a cloud. Below this is the scene of Nativity. The Queen Maya grabs hold of a tree and bends a branch down. Siddhartha was born out of his mother's right side. Brahma and Indra were present at the birth. The little child was exceptional. He took seven steps (lotuses spring forth beneath his feet), and announced that he had been born for the last time and would attempt to eliminate suffering in the world. This scene is followed by the event of scene of raising the young prince, which is shown below the above scene. According to Pali canonical literature, the sage Asita paid his respects and saw that he was encountering a great and universal ruler because the little boy had the characteristics of great man. The sage prophesied to his father that the little Siddhartha was destined to be either a universal monarch or a Buddha. King Shuddhodana saw little good to be from a son who going to devote himself to spiritually and morally lofty things. He wanted Siddhartha to be the successor to his realm and so decided to protect the crown prince from outside world and to surround him with all manner of luxurious and temptations. So the king brought him up isolated in the luxuries of the palace. But the prince had little interest in glamour or entertainment. So the king was very disappointed that the prince did not seem to derive any pleasure from all luxury. His councilors advised providing Siddhartha with distraction and giving him lesson in reading and writing, boxing, archery, etc., but nothing helped. The scene is rendered below the above scene. The next suggestion was that a marriage might have the power to divert him.

Princess Yasodhara was the selected candidate. It was customary at that time girls decided for themselves who they would marry. Yasodhara therefore organized a tournament and made it known that she would choose the one who excelled in courtly and military arts. Siddhartha went to the competition in the company of his cousin Devadatta and half-brother Nanda and others. An elephant had been placed to test who was strongest. Devadatta killed the animal with one hand and Nanda pulled it to the side. Afterwards Siddhartha showed up. He saw the senselessly killed animal, tossed it in an arc over the city wall and the elephant instantly came into life again. At the tournament the crown prince excelled in everything, including swimming and archery. Yasodhara picked him and marriage took place between Siddhartha and Yasodhara. The scene is shown in lower left corner.

After sometime, Siddhartha had a strong desire to see other places and asked his charioteer to drive him outside the palace. On three trips through the gates he encountered suffering for the first time in the form of an old man, a sick man and a corpse. On his fourth trip he saw a man dressed in orange clothes and carrying a bowl, looking very calm and peaceful. The charioteer told that this was a person who renounced the world with all its luxuries and pleasures and was looking for truth and peace, that this person had no desire or anger, and that he lived by begging for his food. Siddhartha then said he wished to be like this "renounced one". Back at the palace, Siddhartha realized that at home, he would never find the solution to put an end all suffering and secretly left his palace. Sitting in front of a stupa, as shown in the painting, he cuts off his long hair, removed his royal costumes and jewelry, and wrapped himself in a simple monk's robe. The scenes are rendered in different places to the right of centre.

The scene of Siddhartha's asceticism is shown in right center, while the scene of his temptations by Mara is finely rendered at the bottom center.

During his life time the Buddha Shakyamuni had performed many miracles. Among them, one is his journey to the Heaven of 33 gods to preach Abhidahrma to his mother Maya. The Scene is depicted in upper right side.

The auspicious Tibetan Buddhist mantras are forming the border of the painting. The painting is brilliantly drawn and painted.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1961

B. Meulenbeld, Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas, Holland, 2001

J.C. Huntington & Dina Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditation Art, Ohio, 2004

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

P.V. Bapat (Ed.), 2500 Years of Buddhism, New 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.