A Royal Teacher and Artist

A prince of the ruling house of Lowo (or Mustang) in the Nepalese-Tibetan borderlands, Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub (1456–1532) was a prominent teacher of the Sakya, one of the four main traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The span of his life saw not only the heyday of scholasticism in fifteenth-century Tibet but also the apogee of his family’s power in Mustang, situated on an important north-south salt route connecting the high-altitude plateau of Tibet with the northern Indian plains. Personifying both scholasticism and royalty, portraits of Lowo Khenchen are unusually abundant, in both Western collections and his home region of Mustang, and many are of high artistic quality. The portrait presented here even records the name of the artist responsible for the work.

Royal Scholar

In his autobiography, Lowo Khenchen links the origins of his family to the nomadic tribes of the Khyungpo clan in the northern plains of Tibet called Jangtang. The royal line of the family, which continues to the present day, was established in the early fifteenth century by Lowo Khenchen’s grandfather, the fort commander (dzongpon) Amapel, (1380–ca. 1440).

Lowo Khenchen was the third son of the ruler Amgon Zangpo (b. 1420) and his wife Pelkyong. While his brothers were raised to engage in worldly affairs, Lowo Khenchen was designated from birth for a religious career. Already at the age of one, he took refuge with his early teacher Jamyang Sherab Gyatso and received his first empowerments and transmissions of Buddhist teachings.1 In his eleventh year he received his novice ordination and soon after began a six-year study of Buddhist discipline (vinaya) and philosophy. During these years he also came into contact with works of Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), one of the greatest figures of the Sakya tradition, and he developed a special devotion toward this master arose in him. In 1477 Lowo Khenchen received his full ordination from his teacher Kunga Wangchuk and was subsequently appointed abbot of the Tubten Dargye Ling Monastery of Mustang, which had more than one thousand monks at that time.

Lowo Khenchen was a prolific writer, and his collected works run to more than three hundred titles. His main contributions to Tibetan scholasticism were his commentaries on Sakya Pandita’s major works. He also composed biographies, histories, praises, and manuals for rituals and meditative practice. Of particular interest are his writings that bear witness to the schism within the Sakya tradition caused by Shakya Chokden‘s composition of some provocative questions concerning one of Sakya Pandita’s works.

In 1505 the region of Mustang and the whole western Himalayas were shaken by a great earthquake, which destroyed not only the natural environment but also many monasteries. Lowo Khenchen spent some of the following years in central Tibet, where he taught and wrote several of his works. In 1532 he passed away at Samdrub Ling Monastery in Mustang, where he had spent the last years of his life.

Royal Portrait

This portrait shows the scholar in the most frequently encountered form, as a corpulent, middle-aged master with distinct facial features and a rather stern expression (fig. 1). In the portrait Lowo Khenchen performs the gesture of argumentation (vitarka mudra) with the right hand while the left rests at the lap. Both hands also hold the stem of a flower, the blossoms of which carry a sword and a book, the symbols of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri. They thus signify his status as a major Buddhist scholar. Further, a large flaming gem is placed on the palm of the left hand, representing the wish-fulfilling gem.

The two-line poetic inscription on the base of the bronze has been translated as follows:

Svasti! With billions of shimmering merits and excellent virtues, he spontaneously accomplished the wisdom that bestows ultimate truth. I bow down to the excellent teacher, the source of liberation, who sets all migratory beings in a state of exalted wealth.

The unequaled guru Manjushri, the Protector of the World [Avalokiteshvara], and the Vajra Holder [Vajrapani] are the body, speech, and mind of all the Victorious Ones, who have taken the form of this image.

As for Tri Songdetsen’s activities in the past, they too are being upheld in this day and age, by the descendant of Amapel, the foremost ruler of men and minister.2

The one [named] Tsewang Gyelpo, whose aspirations [were fulfilled by] his glorious spouse Peldzom, commissioned [this image] respectfully.

By this virtuous deed, may the benefactor together with his many relatives enjoy a long, healthy, and wealthy life for the time being, and, ultimately, attain perfect Buddhahood!

The emanation artisan is Namkha Drak. May it be auspicious!3

The inscription provides a good idea of the exalted position of the portrayed. It also fully accounts for the iconography, the gem standing for both wisdom and the royal origin of the depicted. While it is not entirely clear who the donors are, the spouse Peldzom commissioned the statue in commemoration of Tsewang Gyelpo, her late husband from a ruling family. Most remarkable is, however, the mention of the sculptor Namkha Drak, as the artists behind such works are rarely mentioned in a Tibetan context. The same name is mentioned in another bronze and in the records of a restoration of Khorchak Monastery in western Tibet (fig. 2).4 Fine inlay work in copper and silver characterizes both bronzes, exemplified by the characters of the purification mantra Om a hum inlaid on the back (fig. 3), each resting on a copper lotus.

Precious Portraiture

It appears that in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, many portraits of religious masters were produced in Mustang, either as part of teaching transmission lineages or as stand-alone portraits of eminent local masters associated with the royal house. Thus, the richly inlaid sculptures, many of them depicting Lowo Khenchen, may well be the product of a regional workshop, as bronzes of this type are found in unusual abundance in Mustang.5

Many of the portraits of Lowo Khenchen can be recognized by his distinctive facial features (fig. 4). In fact, considering inscribed portraits only, his life can be followed from his appearance in his twenties to his seventies, the body becoming more corpulent, the hairline receding, and the facial features becoming increasingly stern.6 There are also differences in facial expressions and hairline, not all featuring the central, increasingly thinner bush of hair. Depictions at earlier ages tend to show him with the hat of a scholar, while those of later years often feature the characteristic inlays (fig. 4). Further, work by several workshops can be distinguished. Given the abundance of the images, it seems that in the master’s home region every wealthy household must have had a sculpture of this eminent royal scholar.

In contrast, most Tibetan portraiture was produced to depict oral teaching transmissions covering several centuries, and the actual features of many of the protagonists had long been lost by the time the lineages were created.7 Thus, Tibetan masters are usually portrayed with indistinct idealized features in accordance with the representation of an awakened being. In such a case, the transmission of the teaching arguably is of greater import than the individual person transmitting it. The term “portrait,” then, has a wide range of meanings in Tibet, among which likeness portraits, locally referred to as ngadrama, “looks like me,” are rather rare.

Wider Context

Lowo’s history was continually influenced by the political situation in the neighboring kingdoms of western Tibet (Ngari and parts of Tsang), which were closely interlinked with each other, not least through marriage alliances. The kingdoms of Guge, Purang, and Gungtang in western Tibet in particular were involved repeatedly in political conflicts with Mustang. Besides their political activities, the rulers of these kingdoms distinguished themselves as great supporters of Buddhism. Gungtang and Guge were both patrons of Lowo Khenchen, who gave teachings at their courts.

Both the rivalries and the interconnection are also expressed in the Buddhist art of the time, each kingdom favoring styles that linked back to its own regional past. This is particularly apparent if one compares the art produced in the contemporaneous kingdoms of Gyantse, Guge and Lo (Mustang). The art of Mustang closely aligns with the development of Newar artisanship in south central Tibet (Tsang), a connection continually refreshed through invitations of master artists from the Kathmandu Valley. Literary accounts and inscriptions provide us with the names of a few such artists, but these are the exception rather than the rule.8 Instead, we must assume that most of the art was produced by regional masters of considerable local fame, and Namkha Drak’s name may have come down to us as he worked in both Guge and Mustang. The portrait of Lowo Khenchen, thus, is precious not only for its workmanship and likeness but also for offering a glimpse on how it came about.