Esoteric Painting of Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezi)

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Chenrezi is standing on a lotus throne that sprang up in a lake. His compassionate eyes are open to see the sufferings of humankind and to help all and illuminate all with the light of wisdom. He is the great compassion and boundless wisdom. The thousand arms extend his helping hands toward all beings. Each hand has an eye to see their sufferings in innumerable worlds. His eight main arms hold the major symbols or attributes. His first two hands are held in front of his chest, holding the magic wish-granting gem, which stands for the spirit of enlightenment that consists of love and wisdom. Two of his remaining three main right hands hold a rosary for reciting Om Mani Padme Hum and a wheel of combined spiritual teaching and benevolent governance; the third reaches out in the boon-granting gesture. His left hands hold a lotus in full bloom, symbolizing that the flowering of enlightenment lies in compassionate activity, a bow and arrow symbolizing meditation and wisdom, and a vase of elixir of immortality, symbolizing that enlightenment results in boundless life. His ten faces symbolizes that he has mastered all ten of the Bodhisattva stages, each face representing an attitude dominant on a particular stage. The eleventh head of Amitabha on the top, symbolizing that Avalokiteshvara is really a Buddha, that in fact he is the compassion of all the Buddhas.

The Samantmukha is adorned with exquisitely designed crown, necklaces, hoop earrings, armlets, bracelets and anklets. The skin of an antelope is over his left shoulder, referring to his ascetic experience. Moreover he wears silk scarves, a dhoti, and leggings etc. There is a beautiful arch shaped aureole with the protective fire border behind his body.

On the top five Dhyani Buddhas are seated on thrones in clouds. Vairochana Buddha is shown on the top center and to his right is Ratnasambhava Buddha. Akshobhya Buddha is seated below the right of Ratnasambhava's seat, while Amitabha Buddha is depicted to the left of Vairochana Buddha and the Buddha Amoghasiddhi is shown seated below to the left of Amitabha. Goddess White Tara is seated in the bottom left corner of the painting and Green Tara is seated in the bottom right corner.

The lower middle ground of this painting is filled with high peaks, covered with snow, lakes and tree etc., while the foreground with peaceful offerings, lake and natural vegetation etc. The painting is very much significant and suitable for esoteric practices and rituals as apart from Avalokiteshvara, it depicts the images of Cosmic Buddhas and white and Green Tara. All the figures are brilliantly drawn.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

Ben Meulenbeld, Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangka, Holland, 2001

B. Bhattacharyya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Calcutta, 1968

L. A Waddell, Buddhism and Lamaism of Tibet, Delh,1979, (reprint)

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Thames and Hudson, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.