Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet
19th century
Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet
19th century
Drenpa Namkha is credited with saving the teachings of Bon, a religion indigenous to Tibet, from total eradication when Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet in the eighth century. According to legend, to save his own religion, Drenpa Namkha adopted Buddhism. This ability to adapt to any religious situation to preserve Bon made him a hero to Bon practitioners. Drenpa Namkha is therefore a personification of the nonsectarian movement in Tibet, representing the inseparability of certain Bon and Buddhist teachings. This form of Drenpa Namkha, depicted in the father-mother (yab-yum) posture with his consort, Oden Barma, is used in longevity rituals. Drenpa Namkha shares many features with the Buddhist tantric master Padmasambhava: both lived in the eighth century, wielded magical powers, and hid texts known as treasures (terma) to be discovered at appropriate times in the future. The round rainbow at bottom center encircles Machen Pomra, the main mountain god of Amdo in Northeastern Tibet.The distinctive palette with deep, flat, blue and grey hues is found in paintings from Ngawa, in southeastern Amdo. The Bon religion flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in southern Amdo, Gyelrong, and the neighboring northern Kham Province.
The passing down of authentic Buddhist teachings from a teacher to a disciple or student, often in the form of a text in a ritualistic context.
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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