Amdo Region, Eastern Tibet
18th - 19th century
This is the gesture of the Buddha calling the earth to witness his awakening.
Amdo Region, Eastern Tibet
18th - 19th century
Depictions of Tonpa Shenrab, the founder of Tibet’s indigenous Bon religion, are often identical to those of Buddha Shakyamuni, leaving many Bon paintings, like this one, misidentified as Buddhist works of art. However, upon close inspection of its details, this painting’s narrative scenes clearly depict events from the life of Tonpa Shenrab, such as the vignette at the bottom right showing Shenrab in a chariot pulled by elephants.Here, Tonpa Shenrab is shown in royal garb and traveling in an elephant-drawn chariot to different populations, accompanied by what appear to be his wife and children as well as a protective dragon, the mount of one of his disciples. At each location, the regal entourage is greeted with offerings and signs of respect. The people in the lower-left corner wave white scarves (katak) as such a sign. People holding ritual water vessels with peacock feathers and those carrying sculpted barley flour offerings (torma) are also represented in this painting, modeling actual Bon ritual and practice.The most surprising elements of this painting are the color choices of pastel pink and light purple hues against a grayblue background. This distinctive palette, as well as the decorative cloud patterns in Tonpa Shenrab’s halo, are sometimes found in paintings from the northeastern Tibetan region of Amdo. A very similar set of paintings in the collection of the Musée Guimet in Paris were acquired in the eastern borderlands of Amdo and the neighboring northwestern Kham region.
This is the gesture of the Buddha calling the earth to witness his awakening.
Also known as vajra position, this posture is associated with meditation.
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.
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.
A vehicle for the preservation and transmission of knowledge. The Buddha’s teachings were originally passed down through oral transmission and storytelling, and stories of the Buddha’s past lives are considered an important source of inspiration and guidance.
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.
Get the latest news and stories from the Rubin, plus occasional information on how to support our work.