Thangka Arts Gallery

The ‘princely lord of wisdom’ is regarded as the first divine teacher of Buddhist doctrine. He is also known as Jambyang Manjushree is said to have made the cleft in the mountains that drained the lake that once flooded Kathmandu valley.

Manjushree Thangka

The historical Buddha – born in Lumbini in southern Nepal in the 5th century BCE, he attained englightment under a pipal (Bo) tree and his teaching set in motion the Buddhist faith. In Tibetan style representations he is always pictured sitting cross-legged on a lotus-flower throne.

Shakyamuni Buddha Thangka

The ‘lotus-born’ Buddha – assisted in establishing in Tibet in  the 8th century. He is regarded by followers of Nyingmapa Buddhism as the second Buddha. He also known as Guru Rimpoche.

Guru - Padmasambhava Thangka

Kalachakra Mandala thangka is surrounded by a ring of fire. Fire in Tantrism means knowledge. The Kalachakra mandala thangka has at its center Mount Meru with the four corners of the world around it. On a flat plane, only the projection of this can be seen. The four corners are rendered as four gates that are each colored differently. Each cardinal direction is indicated by a color. The elements of earth, water, fir air, and ether that are symbolized by the structural portions of a stupa and that are thus also present in Mount Meru, are indicated in the mandala by the various squares. Through the entrance gates, the believer gets inside the mandala. Guardian deities in chariots protect the gates.

Kalachakra Mandala Thangka

He was great Tibetan magician and poet who is believed to have attained the supreme enlightenment of a budhhahood in the course of one life. He lived in the 11th century and travelled extensively throughout the Himalayan borderlands, including Kailash, Shey Gompa, Nupri, and Nayalam near Kodari on the road from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Most images of Milarepa picture him smiling, holding his hand to his ears he sings.

Milarepa Thangka

Tara – the saviouress – has 21 different manifestations or aspects. She symbolises fertility and is believed to be able to fulfill wishes. Thangka paintings of Tara usually represent Green Tara, who is associated with night, or White Tara, who is associated with day. You can recognise statues of White Tara because she has seven eyes, including one on her forehead, each palm and the sole of each foot.

Green Tara | White Tara

Relationships with the cosmos can be most clearly seen in a mandala. Mandala literally means “magic circle” or “ring,” but in practice it is a geometric pattern of squares and concentric circles as a projection of the cosmos.

Mandala, a circle which is a device for the Tantric meditation. It is a visual aid for concentration and intro-vertive meditation leading to the attainment of insights and to activation of forces culminating in “Siddhi” supernatural forces.

Mandala Thangka

One of the three great saviours or Bodhisattvas. He is the Bodhisattva of compassion and is often pictured with 11 heads and several pairs of arms. His Tibetan name is Chenresig and the Sherpas call him Pawa Cherenzig.

Avalokitesvara Thangka

The belief in reincarnation means that shortly after death, the spirit of a person returns to earth in another body or function. The new kind of life in which people end up after rebirth is determined by the manner in which the previous life was lived, or karma, the sum of all acts, reactions, and mental activity. This can come out positively or negatively at rebirth. It may become an oppressive experience, but may also lead to a pleasant or superior life. The thing is, ultimately, to live so purely that one becomes enlightened and attains the state of nirvana. Then one won't be incarnated anymore.

The path to liberation passes by way of three major forms of knowledge of one's former lives; knowledge of the lives and deaths of all other beings; and knowledge of how to become liberated from the whole process of samsara. This knowledge can be found in the Twelve-Part Causality Series, the one of cause and effect, as can be seen in the medallions and segments of the Bhavachakra. Bhavachakra means Wheel of Life, Wheel of Existence, and symbolizes samsara in the form of a spinning wheel.

The Wheel of Life

Some of the Medicine Buddha portrayed in our e-shop is in the center is absolutely in keeping with the previous two. Still it seems as if Bhaisajyaguru is supposed to be seen here as a direct emanation of Shakyamuni Buddha. The medicine Buddha is flanked by two bodhisattvas with red nimbuses. To the left is Suryaprabha, and to the right, Chandraprabha, who often wears a moon-shaped piece of jewelry. The five dhyani buddhas are seated on lotus pillows, hovering in the clouds above the medicine Buddha Somewhat behind the throne sit two monks, their heads shaven. The arhat to the left of the Buddha is Bakula, the oldest of the sixteen. He became 70 before the birth of Shakyamuni as the son of a Brahman. At an advanced age, he became a disciple of the Buddha, and attained nirvana. Due to his ascetic way of life, he suffered no illnesses for 160 years. The arhat to the right of the Buddha is Rahulabhadra, the son of Siddhartha and Yashodhara, who was conceived on the evening of the Great Exodus from the palace. Directly below the throne of the medicine Buddha sits the Green Tara. Below her, slightly to the left, sits a worshipper, and behind his back, a scantily clad man is about to fall into a gorge; he is possibly a symbol of somebody who has lost his way in a spiritual sense and needs to be cured of his erring. The bottom edge reveals symbols of longevity derived from Chinese iconography, such as deer, rocks, and an evergreen. Lying in bowls are symbols of good luck, including a number of the Seven Jewels, and pearls and peaches, which are often used in medicine.

Medicine Buddha Thangka

In Tibetan painting, a series of twelve major moments in the Budhha's life developed. The iconographic sequence is standard, but the location of the tableaux in the paintings may vary. Sometimes sense are added or omitted. These twelve important moments gives us an overview of Siddhartha, the person who became Shakyamuni, and of his Buddhist teachings.

The Life of Buddha

Kalachakra means Wheel of Time. It is one of the last great tantras and dates from the 10th century. The Mahasiddha Naropa wrote a well known commentary on it, and the reformer Atisha brought the Kalachakra Tantra from Bengal to Tibet.

Kalachakra Figure (deity) has four heads, twelve pairs of arms, and one pair of legs. He stands in yab-yum with his partner, Vishvamata, the mother of all, who is always orange. Kalachakra tramples Hindu deities underfoot. With his right leg, Kamadeva, the god of love, and with his left, Rudra, a form of Shiva. Beside Kamadeva lies his spouse, Rati, and beside Rudra his wife, Parvati.

Kalachakra Deity Thangka