Rebgong county, Qinghai Province, China
2012-2013
Rebgong county, Qinghai Province, China
2012-2013
This painting of the Medicine Buddha in his palace illustrates the first chapter of the Four Medical Tantras (Gyu shi), which many medical students and doctors recite every morning in homage to this buddha and his medical tradition. The palace, presented as a traditional Buddhist mandala diagram, is surrounded by four mountains. Each mountain offers the perfect environment for specific medicinal plants to grow and harbors various types of minerals, precious stones, and springs with restorative waters, each associated with particular healing qualities and used in treatment. At the center of the palace the Medicine Buddha, in the form of the teacher Rigpa Yeshe, is seen expounding the science of healing to four groups of disciples, among them his student Yilekye. This painting is a rendition of the first painting of an important set of seventy nine medical thangkas created in Lhasa, Tibet, in the late seventeenth century.
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.
While the primary religious goal for followers of Buddhism is enlightenment, many of the practices also serve secular goals related to daily life, including ethical conduct and cultivating well-being.
Teachings and precepts that offer practical and experiential guidance. In Buddhism instruction is primarily an oral tradition and is often targeted to the specific needs or disposition of a student or disciple.
An awakened being who understands the true nature of reality and is free from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. While there are many buddhas, Siddhartha Gautama is the historical Buddha, whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism.
Although Tibetan Buddhism was not practiced broadly in China, the imperial centers, such as Beijing and Mount Wutai, emerged as hubs of Tibetan Buddhist cultural production. The emperors of the Mongol Yuan (1271–1368), Chinese Ming (1368–1644), and Manchu Qing (1644–1911) dynasties harnessed Tibetan Buddhist ideas to consolidate their power.
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