Derge Printing House, Derge, Kham Region, Eastern Tibet
20th century
Derge Printing House, Derge, Kham Region, Eastern Tibet
20th century
This composition depicts the Lords of the Three Families, also known as the Three Lords of the World. The three enlightened families are the Buddha Family, represented by Manjushri, the embodiment of wisdom, standing in the center, with his right hand holding the stem of a lotus supporting a sword and the left hand holding a flower supporting The Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) Sutra; the Lotus Family, represented by Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of compassion, to Manjushri’s right (the south), with his right hand in the gesture of generosity and the left hand holding a lotus; and the Vajra Family, represented by Vajrapani, the embodiment of power, to Manjushri’s left (the north), with his right hand holding a vajra.
This woodblock print was printed at the Derge Printing House in the Kham region of southeastern Tibet (modern-day Ganzi, Sichuan Province, PRC). Founded in 1729, it is one of the largest and most important producers of traditional Tibetan woodblock prints. This is said to be one of the older woodblock compositions still being used to produce prints.
The antidote to ignorance, with the highest form of wisdom being an understanding of the true nature of reality and all phenomena. In Buddhism studying the nature of interdependence and emptiness is considered an important step for attaining wisdom.
The cultivation of a strong aspiration to help sentient beings overcome suffering. In Buddhist Mahayana teaching, compassion is the seed for attaining full enlightenment.
Beings who aspire to become fully awakened like the Buddha and are dedicated to helping others on the path to enlightenment.
Tantric deities personify various enlightened qualities and are the focus of esoteric religious practices (tantras) that aim to swiftly and radically transform one’s understanding of reality.
Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.
Woodblock printing became an important technology of production, propagation, and cross-cultural exchange of both text and image in Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian regions from the 12th century on.
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