Superfine White Tara With Five Dhyani Buddhas - Tibetan Buddhist Super Large Thangka

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White Tara has one face representing the unified nature of reality. She has two arms which denote the twin truths, relative and absolute. Her white color is a symbol of purity. She has seven eyes. The three on her face signify the three purities of body, speech, and mind. The remaining four, one in each of the two palms of her hands and the soles of her feet, represent the following four immeasurable qualities:

a). Compassion

b). Loving Kindness

c). Sympathetic Joy

d). Equanimity Toward All Beings

With her right hand she makes the boon granting gesture and her left hand, holding the stem of a lotus flower between her thumb and fourth finger, is in the protection granting mudra. Her two legs, folded in the vajra posture, indicate that she is beyond the duality of samsara and nirvana.

The goddess's elongated ear lobes are hung with elaborate golden karnaphools (circular floral earrings). The Chinese-looking intoxicating eyes are characterized by drooping eyelids giving an almost dreamy expression to her finely chiselled face. The pursed thin, rich-red lips are curved in a slight smile. Three conch-like lines on the neck highlight its loveliness.

In the Tibetan aesthetic, White Tara is envisioned as a beautiful sixteen year old girl. Here the artist has very skilfully captured her youth, expressing it directly in her physical attributes and metaphorically in her demeanour. Thus we have two, perfectly spherical blooming breasts tapering to a blemish-free waist and slim lithe limbs, indicating her suppleness. On a symbolic level, the colorful flowers making up her crown and the lotus blossoming on her left shoulder, all suggest the freshness of her own budding youth.

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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.