Lhathok, Kham Province, Eastern Tibet
18th - 19th century
This painting portrays the teacher Namkha Palzang (1398–1425) of Ralung Monastery in Tsang Province, westerncentral Tibet, and belongs to a large set depicting the lineage teachers of the Drukpa Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. While the main figure is from central Tibet, the painting has a distinct eastern-Tibetan flavor and seems to suggest a special regional style associated with the Lhathok area, in Kham Provence, southeastern Tibet.A special variation of the New Menri style of Kham took root by the mid- or late nineteenth century at Khampa Gar Monastery, a Drukpa Kagyu monastery in Lhathok in northwestern Kham. This style shares a number of common qualities with other local Kham painting traditions such as the Encampment style, including the indigo shading of the clouds, the transparent body nimbuses on the figures, and handling of the sky with steeply graded layers of indigo that quickly go from an intense blue to nearly blank canvas. There is also a fondness for hiding forms within craggy landscapes, such as various auspicious symbols—a conch shell, parasol, endless knot, and lion—surrounding the cave at the top left.
A bell is often paired with the vajra and is another implement used in tantric practices and an attribute of tantric masters and deities. It generally symbolizes wisdom, the feminine aspect of enlightenment, and its ring is said to be the sound of emptiness.
A vajra is a ritual scepter used in tantric practices and an attribute of tantric masters and deities. It generally symbolizes method, the male aspect of enlightenment.
This implement is used in tantric rituals and is also an attribute of wrathful deities. It symbolizes cutting through ignorance, desire, and hatred, the three “root poisons” that perpetuate the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
A skull cup is an attribute of tantric deities and is usually paired with a curved knife. It can symbolize a mind filled with the bliss of realizing the true nature of reality.
This weapon is an attribute of tantric deities and is usually paired with a skull cup. When held by female deities it symbolizes wisdom’s destruction of all obstacles to enlightenment. When held by male deities it represents the method aspect of enlightenment.
The transmission of teachings from one generation to the next, from teacher to student, traced all the way back to the Buddha without interruption. A complete lineage is essential in Tantric Buddhist practices as it makes the blessings of the teaching more powerful.
Himalayan art includes portraits of legendary and historical humans, including accomplished religious teachers (lamas), the Buddha’s original disciples (arhats), and spiritually accomplished tantric masters (mahasiddhas).
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.
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