Scroll paintings known as thangkas, sculptures, ritual items, and musical instruments are arranged on traditional Tibetan furniture according to the hierarchy they assume in Tibetan Buddhist practices. The objects, such as vajras and bells, offering bowls, pitchers, and ritual mandalas are used in daily rituals and offerings along with handheld drums, conch trumpets, horns, and reeds. Ornamental textile decorations of brocade silk, made by traditional masters of appliqué craft, hung from the ceiling and on pillars, are also an integral part of a traditional shine room’s adornment. The Rubin’s Shrine Room is complete with simulated flickering butter lamps, recordings of Tibetan monks and nuns chanting prayers, and the subtle smell of incense, which is used during religious practices.
The installation rotates every two years to highlight each of the four major Tibetan religious traditions. This rendition features the Kagyu tradition and includes images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, tantric deities, protectors, and teacher portraits specific to the branches of this tradition. Among the most famous teachers of the Kagyu tradition are the renowned translator and teacher Marpa, his legendary disciple and yogi Milarepa, and the lamas, or teachers, of the first reincarnation lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, known as Karmapas. Some of the main practices of this tradition focus on the tantric deities Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara and the fierce protector deity Mahakala.
The installation is accompanied by an interactive touch screen with a virtual tour of the Shrine Room. The tour features select paintings, sculptures, and ritual items on loan to the Museum as well as objects from the Rubin Museum’s collection that focus on the Kagyu tradition’s deities, teachers, and related practices.
The Shrine Room is supported by The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, Namita and Arun Saraf, and by generous donations from the Museum’s Board of Trustees, individual donors, and members.
