A Buddhist painting centered on a large circle divided into six sections like spokes of a wheel. In each section are small figures, human, animal, and various non-humans. At the center are representations of poisons and their effects. The diagram is superimposed on the front of a humanoid figure with bulging eyes and a fanged mouth.

Thinking a lot about karma and opportunities to witness it ripening…

Thus, #ThangkaTuesday features the Wheel of Becoming (Bhavachakra; སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ།) which illustrates #Buddhist ideas of cause & effect, realms of rebirth, aka samsara.

📷: Natl Gallery Prague via HAR

#himalaya #buddhistart #karma

Detail from a Himalayan Buddhist painting, showing a seated woman wearing a colorful green top, blue outer garment, and red trousers with gold details.

#ThangkaTuesday transatlantic edition. It’s wheels up from Bhutan & this Yeshe Tsogyal keeps coming to mind—her gorgeous garments, especially the subtle striping on her wrap, and the adornments in her hair. Simply sublime!

📷: me, pvt collection, Bhutan
#himalaya #himalayanart #bhutan #buddhistart

Traditional Bhutanese Buddhist painting, vertical format, focused on a large scale human teacher wearing red & orange robes and a red hat, surrounded by other Buddhist teachers and deities shown in smaller scale.

#ThangkaTuesday was on hiatus—now back with this beauty from the newly opened Wangduechholing Palace Museum in #Bhutan. It took us a while, but we think we know which Je Khenpo it is. (18th!) Thanks to the WPM team for the guided tour & invitation to speak.

#buddhistart #himalaya #fulbright

Detail of a painting showing three Buddhist practitioners, seated cross-legged, wearing red robes, and holding musical instruments and offerings. They are all looking at a being with two arms and legs, facial features on its torso, and a huge spurting phallus where a human head would generally be located.

Belated #ThangkaTuesday entry comin’ in hot with a tiny detail of three cave-dwelling, red-robed yogis propitiating a rather remarkable phallus (man? spirit?)

#himalaya #buddhistart #bhutaneseart

A Bhutanese traditional vertical format painting of Buddhist deities and masters. The main figures, a deity pair, are largest in scale at center and are flanked by a series of smaller lineage figures. A yellow seated deity is above their heads, and a buddha, a bodhisattva, and a meditational deity are below.

From the Yum Chenmo above to the trio of figures below, this Dorje Sempa yab yum is atypical. At least 2 artists contributed, with a steadier hand rendering the main deity pair as compared to the flanking Kagyu & Drukpa Kagyu lineage figures.

📷: NMB

#ThangkaTuesday #himalaya #bhutan #buddhistart

Two hands hold up a small embroidered thangka for the camera. The fabric ground is black and torn in places, while the figure, stitched in golden thread, depicts a cross-legged, two-armed, crowned deity sitting on top of a lotus.

Generosity is the theme of this #ThangkaTuesday. This charming Vajradhara (རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང་།), Holder of the Indestructible, is in a private collection shown to me years ago. I adore its simplicity & beauty, and that little extra head tilt. My gratitude to those who have shown me so much.

#himalaya #bhutan

A small painting of a dark blue male deity wearing a red garment on his lower body. He's sitting cross legged "lotus style", wherein the top of each foot rests against the calf of the opposite leg so that the soles of his feet point skyward. Below him is a red lotus and a golden "halo" of light appears behind his body, while another, smaller, flame-edged halo emerges from his shoulders and encircles around his head. His right arm extends out at shoulder level, his hand grasping the handle of a vajra-hilted sword that he brandishes above him. In his left hand is the stem of a lotus, bends up and to the right, terminating in a pink bloom that holds aloft a rectangular traditional Himalayan Buddhist book.

Since 2020, I've noticed more images of & initiations for Black Manjushri (འཇམ་དབྱངས་ནག་པོ།), a form of the #Buddhist bodhisattva of wisdom believed to help those experiencing #anxiety, depression, or other disturbances in their mental state.

#himalaya #thangkatuesday
📷: Zanabazar Museum

Detail of a painting showing garland of severed and decaying heads encircling the lower half of a blue deity, who also wears jewelry and snake ornaments. The figure's feet stand in the ballet first position atop a personified obstacle, a male lying on his back with an anguished expression.

Detail of a blue ox pressed atop, and likely forcefully copulating with, a prone human figure with a dismayed expression on his face. The ox is the vehicle of the deity pair that stands atop it, and the human represents the subjugation of obstacles. A lotus base atop a rocky outcropping appears below.

How to paint the overcoming of ego? In #Himalayan #Buddhism, vanquished ego & other obstacles to achievement can appear as a garland of severed & decaying heads strung on entrails, or as figures being trampled underfoot...

📷: Loeb (L) & Tang Museum (R)

#ThangkaTuesday #Tibetanart #Buddhistart

An elaborate painting of a Buddhist heaven realm with a large Buddha seated at center, surmounted by a tree full of sumptuous offerings of musical instruments and flowers, as well as throngs of devotees.

Escapism is the word of the day for today’s #ThangkaTuesday. Sick of/from samsara, #Buddhists can turn practice to one of several Pure Lands. Rebirth there means enlightenment is guaranteed, so matter how long it takes.

I often teach this work from the Met showing the Land of Great Bliss (2004.139)

#ThangkaTuesday inspo: Tibetan equivalents of #Medieval goth manuscript lions.

Some paintings of Buddhas & teachers have lions in the thrones, referencing the Buddha Shakyamuni (Lion of the Sakya Clan)

#Buddhistart #Himalaya

📷: L: Detail, Drakpa Gyatso's throne
R: Detail, Menlha's throne
via HAR

Painting of a standing, two armed dark blue deity with three eyes, stretching out his right hand and holding his left hand at heart level. He's standing on a lotus and is surrounded by orange and red flames. In his upswept hair is a small green horse's head and above the hair is a white mythical bird called a Garuda.

Sickness stinks, but Buddhists in the #Himalaya can call on several deities to help heal. This #ThangkaTuesday highlights Ta Chak Khyung Sum (རྟ་ཕྱག་ཁྱུང་གསུམ།), a single deity who packs the power of three: blue Chana Dorje, the green horse head of Tandin, and white Khyung.

#tibetanart #buddhism

Detail of a painting of a green, two-armed figure sitting on a lotus, surrounded by a multicolored halo, holding out her right hand toward a small snake. She also holds a blue lotus flower in each hand.

A vertical format traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting showing eight green female figures, each of which is sitting on a lotus and surrounded by a halo around their head and another around their body. The haloes are orange while the rest of the composition is mostly green, blue, and gold, with some pink in the lotuses. Each figure holds out her right hand to gesture toward the representation of an obstacle.

Take a break from doomscrolling with #ThangkaTuesday, featuring green Tara (སྒྲོལ་ལྗང་།), who saves Buddhist faithful from the eight great fears, one of which is snakes.

#TibetanBuddhism #BuddhistArt #Himalaya #Buddhist #Buddhism #TibetanArt

Detail of a painting showing a seated Buddhist master in robes holding ritual implements. Next to his halo to the right, a leopard eats the face of a prone human, while a bird removes the entrails of another body above. Below the master's lotus base, another feline bites into a body.

For #ThangkaTuesday, and for no other reason whatsoever, here are some #Buddhist images of leopards eating faces:

Padmasambahva & Yeshe Tsogyal in a thangka of the problem-pinning deity Dorjé Phurbu, as tigers and leopards dig in to some face flesh nearby.

#tibetanart #leopards #himalaya

A vertical format Himalayan painting. The center of the composition is dominated by a standing, dark blue, four armed, two legged figure encircled in red and orange flames, standing on top of a personified obstacle that lies between the main figure's feet and multicolored blue, pink, orange, and green lotus petals–a flower that signifies the main figure's enlightened actions. Below are three small seated Buddhist masters, each on their own louts, wearing monastic robes and hats indicating they are from the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions. At bottom left is a shirtless seated adept, or practitioner who has separated themselves from society. He also sits on a lotus and is surrounded by a halo. A lay devotee in white robes with a red halo sits cross-legged on a lotus raising his hands in respect. Across the top is a register of five figures; the two on the ends are bodhisattvas, and between them are three Buddhas. Below each bodhisattva is a master teacher. To the left is a teacher from the Geluk tradition and on the right is a Sakya practitioner. Together, nearly all the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are present. The main image, Bhutadamara Vajrapani, holds a lasso–used to bind obstacles–in his left hand, and a dorjé, or symbol of the indestructible, in his upraised right hand. His remaining two hands are crossed at the wrists at the center of his chest, with his red palms facing outward and little fingers linked in a distinctive gesture associated with this form of Vajrapani.

14th century sculpted image of Bhutadamara Vajrapani from the Gyantse Kumbum in central Tibet. The main figure is in the same dark blue, four armed, two legged form surrounded by flames and standing on a figure lying down on a lotus base. On either side is a smaller dark blue, two armed, standing attendant figure, each of whom also stands on his own louts and holds his own dorje implement in his upraised proper right hand.

Another horizontal format thangka of Bhutadamara Vajrapani, this time with a more open landscape surrounding him. Each of the corners is occupied by a bodhisattva seated on a lotus: at top right is the four-armed white Chenrezig Chakzhipa (Cintamani Lokesvara), an embodiment of compassion; bottom right is the eight armed, three-faced, white long life deity Namgyelma (Ushnishavijaya); bottom left reveals the white long life deity Drolkar (White Tara), recognizable by her 7 eyes (Saptalocana); and top left, seated amidst clouds, is Norgyunma (Vasundhara), the golden goddess of good harvest and abundance. Directly above Vajrapani's head is a small gold circle, in which appears to be the longku (sambhogakaya) form of Mitrupa (Aksobhya). The flames around the main figure are pink and orange, while the midground on either side of him show recessive distance through its small, rounded hills.

Exhausted by evildoers? #Buddhists might consider Bhūtaḍāmara practice. A peek:

“Make a fist with your left hand
And extend your middle finger and thumb.
This mudrā makes female spirits appear in person
And causes the destruction of all evildoers."

#ThangkaTuesday #Himalaya #ObstacleRemoval

A block print showing a stylized scorpion with three eyes and fangs not just on its primary face, but also fangs and eyes on its tail and forelegs. Each of the six remaining legs appears to "hold" repelling mantras. Repelling mantras also appear on the scorpion's body, which is surrounded by licks of flame.

A block print of a composite being with a snake's lower body, a human torso, and a bull's head, which is surmounted by two additional human-like heads of unusual and somewhat unsettling countenance. The figure has two arms and hands, which are held at the body's center line and seem to be inserting a ritual dagger into a triangle. The triangle shape is often used to 'contain' an obstacle that is being ritually destroyed.

A block print with a series of circles at the center, each of which bear a protective or destructive mantra. The diagram is superimposed on two figures. One is right side up and wears a hat; his wrists are chained to the ankles of the second figure, which is upside down, and whose wrists are bound to the ankles of the other, a position that represents the binding and immobilizing of potential obstacles.

A humoresque figure with its arms bound behind it and its knees bent and ankles bound together. Protective syllables appear on the figure's body and face, and it is surrounded by three rows of mantras and syllables arranged in a shape reminiscent of looking down onto (or into) a skull. The outermost row and the outer four corners are the syllable dza alongside large Xs, which serve to further contain the personified obstacle at center.

Or just go for the flaming scorpion. Or any of these. I mean, seriously. Do you want to get it done, or not?

Block prints: Nik Douglas, Tib. Charms & Amulets, 1977

#tibetanart #himalaya #obstacleremoval #buddhism #thangkatuesday

A painting that is on woven cotton ground with a dark blue background. We can tell it is well-used by creases and areas of pigment loss where it's been folded and refolded. The composition is dominated by a stylized representation of a flayed nude male, as if he has been opened up from neck to pelvis. There are no viscera or bones present; instead, his skin is arranged in a square shape. His arms, also flayed, are raised up so that each of his still-intact hands holds a lock of his long black hair, extended outward as if pigtails. His emotional state is evinced only by his downturned mouth. At the bottom, his boneless legs are bent at unnatural angles, and his genitals are clearly visible. Superimposed on the flayed body is an intricate diagram, the outermost circle of which is a ring of curvilinear, stylized fire. Inside are a series of successively smaller forms, most of which are also circular. Some reveal weapons, while others are inscribed with protective syllables. Toward the centermost portion is an eight pointed "sharp weapon" as viewed from above (reminiscent of a throwing star), inside which are additional rings of syllables and an eight-petalled lotus. At the centermost point is a six-pointed star, also inscribed with protective syllables.

How can evil be averted? Himalayan Buddhist traditions deploy protective imagery in paintings, murals, block prints and amulets. Images of weapons, inscriptions invoking powerful protectors, and other symbols are believed to keep baddies at bay.

#ThangkaTuesday #himalaya #buddhism #protection

A Buddhist master manifesting in an aggressive, maroon-faced, two armed form, standing on the back of a tiger. His right hand is raised in the air and holds a representation of indestructible force, while his left is outstretched and extended outward, elbow straight, so that the iron dagger he holds points down at hip level. He wears layers of colorful robes: jade green, orange, and dark and cerulean blue, with golden details. His three eyes bulge, his fangs bite his lower lip, and he is adored with both a three-skull crown and a severed head garland. As if that weren't wrathful enough, he and his tiger mount are surrounded by orange and red curvilinear flames.

View of the full painting, with the tiger-rider at center. Surrounding are approximately twenty small scenes, each of which detail events from the central figure's life. They include architectural settings, in which the teacher is speaking to assembled Buddhist monks and laypersons. In some scenes, he teaches outdoors in nature. Other settings show him teaching in heavenly worlds and subhuman realms, where he teaches non-human beings. The background is primarily mountains, rocks, and sky in dark green and blue, however, the scenes that constitute the composition are predominantly red and orange.

For #ThangkaTuesday, behold Dorje Drolo, a tiger-riding, flame-emitting manifestation of Padmasambhava. His fleet-footed Felidae ensured their safe transport to Paro Taktsang, a cliffside cave in western #Bhutan, where enemies were smote as insights were achieved.

📷 Shuzo Uemoto, pvt. collection

Detail of a vertical format painting on stretched cotton using ground mineral pigments. The background is variegated greens. At the top, flying in the air, are two thin dragons, one reddish and one dark greenish and both with orange manes. Their thin bodies are twisting, with limbs outstretched as they face one another. Their forelegs rip apart a small human figure whose intestines uncoil into the red dragon’s mouth. Their forelegs rip human’s chest has a bloody wound and his heart is shown falling out of the chest cavity and falling down toward two standing figures below. One figure is dark red and seems to have scales. Its back is to the viewer and its arms are outstretched as if readying itself to catch the falling heart.

It’s #ThangkaTuesday!
Evisceration is surely no fun, but when it does happen, hopefully it’s by two dragons who rip out your heart so that it falls into the eager, outstretched, waiting arms of non-human beings, who will almost certainly nom it.

#buddhistart #tibetanart #himalayanart #buddhist

A painting in vertical format. At center is a cross-legged seated figure with a broad, round face, his features small and centered. He wears an elaborate red hat with the image of the sun and moon at center, and a finial element–specifically, a ritual implement called a dorje–extending from the crown. He wears many layers of garments, the innermost a Buddhist monastic garment with red edges folded across his chest, and partly visible is one sleeve of a maroon garment decorated with gold auspicious symbols. A yellow and red outer garment surrounds him and puddles around his crossed legs. He sits on an elaborate throne with snow lion decorations beneath it. In front is a low table covered with Buddhist ritual implements, and in front of that is a row of offerings, including gems, conch shells, elephant tusks, and other precious substances. The foreground and midground have green peaked mountains, and in the left bottom corner is a standing dark blue power deity surrounded in flames. At bottom right is a master practitioner with dark brown skin. He has a halo and wears a white inner garment, red meditation band, and has a rich red outer garment. A green halo surrounds the head of the main figure, as do white, pink, red, and orange lotus flowers in varying stages of bloom. The top corners have bodhisattva figures–a white four armed seated male figure at upper left, the embodiment of compassion, and a yellow two-armed seated male figure at upper right, who is the embodiment of wisdom.

Detail of the painting, showing the intricate details of the left side of the main figure's robes and the cushions and throne on which he sits. The fine brushwork includes vegetal, floral, and geometric patterns, as well as dragons and stylized rocks and water.

#ThangkaTuesday features a favorite #Buddhist master, Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), a treasure revealer from #Bhutan. Especially enthralling are the masterful details of the robes, throne, and cushions–dragons swirl, lotuses unfurl, and there's just auspiciousness everywhere.

#buddhistart #painting

A portion of a biographical painting showing a small female figure, a Buddhist master, sitting cross-legged in a cave together with five disciples as well as three ritual sculptures called torma. To the left, the same female master sits in front of a small ritual table with another torma and two offering implements, as a four armed deity appears above in a circle, indicating she is experiencing a direct vision of it, an act that further reinforces her high levels of meditative achievement.

Another painting detail in which Machik Labdron appears in three different caves and twice within a temple. The cave at left shows her in a red meditation band going across her body from her right shoulder. Three disciples sit in front of her as she is seated in a meditative position. The middle cave also includes a white tent form; Machik wears the same red band but is shown solo, raising a double sided drum with her right hand and holding a skull bowl in her left. Below, in a blue cave, she is shown seated sans adornment and implement, as two small devotees kneel with their hands raised in gestures of respect. In the golden-roofed temple at right, Machik sits alone in the upper level in a meditative posture. On the lower level, Machik is shown seated in mid-ritual, holding up a double sided drum and blowing into a thighbone trumpet, with three people surrounding her in gestures of respect.

Under the wire, it's #ThangkaTuesday, featuring yogis and yoginis in caves–special shout out to @andrewquintman.bsky.social, who suggested these siddhas. Machik Labdrön (11th c.) is our first focus. Renowned for her mastery of severance practice (གཅོད་), thangka reflect she was a regular retreatant.

A detail of a Tibetan painting showing a brown rock cave with blue and green outcroppings. At center, a seated Buddhist teacher wearing red and orange robes and a red pointed hat holds a rectangular Buddhist text and holds out his right hand in a gesture of discussion. Around him are nine monks, also wearing red and orange, who are smaller in size and thus less senior. The hatless monks have texts as well, and are in a range of postures–listening, discussion, reading, and debate.

A blue green cave has a red-hatted teacher sitting inside, holding a rectangular white text. Next to him is a small table with a gold vase. In front of him is a golden-complected person seated and leaning forward in a humilific position. A seated Buddha is to the right, who is looking at a white cloud, on which are several offering goddesses.

A monk wearing a red pointed scholar's hat is seated in a cave. His left hand holds a bell with the clapper pointed up, while his right hand holds a double sided drum. To his right is a small table with ritual implements and vessels, as is a table behind him. A multicolored fabric canopy hangs above him. He is looking toward a smaller scale female, who is a bright white color. She has two lotus flowers in her hair, and extends a skull cup towards the monk with her left hand while holding a devination arrow in her right.

With grading done, it's finally the holiday break. Thus, this #ThangkaTuesday is dedicated to teeny tiny details of caves–sites of #Buddhist retreat, initiation, teaching, miracles, and treasures both revealed & concealed–and where nary an email is received.

Inside Buddhist monastery. Red beams with yellow and green walls. Pictures of Monks hanging from a wall and on the ceiling a large Blue, Yellow, Red, Green & White cloth hangs from the ceiling in the middle. It is surrounded by Thangka scrolls surrounding it.

Happy #ThangkaTuesday here are some thangka I came across at Denchen Choekhor Monastery in Kullu, Himachal.

Thank you for educating me on what they're called. I wasn't aware at the time.

A rectangular canvas in vertical format, painted with ground mineral pigments. At center is a figure in large scale, taking up about one third of the total painted surface. He is a Buddhist teacher of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition, wearing a red folded hat, a red meditation band crossing his body from the right shoulder, a pale red garment over his shoulders and left hand, and a red inner robe. A red and gold outer garment puddles around his seated body. Above him and around him are a series of bodhisattvas, shown in crowns and jewels, secular kings, and other monks and teachers. Directly above his head is the figure of the red Buddha of Longevity.

Kicking off #ThangkaTuesday with a work from the National Museum of #Bhutan, featuring the nation's founder, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), surrounded by previous incarnations and lineage figures, some of whom are conflated with bodhisattvas.

Photo by Lobsang Norbu, NMB

Excited to see this return! I think I’ll begin a related adaptation: #ThangkaTuesday