The eighth-century master Namkhai Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five disciples of the Indian master Padmasambhava, is shown in this painting dressed in monastic robes and holding an arrow symbolizing longevity in his right hand. To his right is a ritual space arrayed with the materials he will use while performing a long-life ritual. This assemblage centers on a sacred circle, or mandala, upon which a tripod sits and supports a long-life vase festooned with peacock feathers. Emanating out of this structure is the assembly of immortality deities that is invoked in the ritual, seen at the upper left. Namkhai Nyingpo along with Gyelwa Jangchub transcribed and concealed the biography of Yeshe Tsogyel, Padmasambhava’s consort and foremost disciple, which was revealed by Taksham Nuden Dorje in the seventeenth century.Certain details of this depiction seem to follow a textual account of “The Dialog of Namkhai Nyingpo with Princess Dorje Tso,” with the princess depicted at his lower right holding a skull cup. The story was written by the great scholar from Kham Province Jamgon Kongtrul (1813–1899), suggesting a nineteenth-century date for this painting. This evidence is in accord with its painting style, which was popular in Kham during that period.

Artwork Details

Title
Namkhai Nyingpo (8th-9th century) Performing a Long-Life Ritual
Dimensions
49 1/4 × 35 1/4 × 2 1/4 in.
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Kham Province, Eastern Tibet
Classification(s)
paintings
Date
19th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object number
C2006.66.20
HAR Number
678
Published references
*Rhie, Marylin M., and Robert A.F. Thurman. Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art and Wisdom of Compassion. New York: Tibet House, 1999. Cat. 67; Pp. 255, 257-258.* Van Alphen, J. Collection Highlights: Rubin Museum of Art. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2014. Pp. 53, 142-143* Brauen, Martin. ôMandala: The Perfect Circleö Arts of Asia, 40, no. 2, (2010): Fig. 14, pp. 80-81.* Hofer, Theresia, Bodies in Balance: The Art of Tibetan Medicine. Seattle: University of Washington Press; New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2014. Fig. 2.11, pp. 37, 41

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Transmission

Concepts

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.

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Lineage

Concepts

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.

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Ritual

Concepts

Prescribed practices that carry symbolic meaning and value within a specific tradition and are intended to attain a desired outcome. Rituals are usually done as part of a ceremony or regular routine.

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Legendary and Historical Humans

Figure Type

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).

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Tibetan Regions

Region

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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