Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Refuge Field (Buddhist) - Drigung Lineage

སྐྱབས་འགྲོའི་ཞིང་ངམ་ཚོགས་ཞིང་། 皈依境(佛教)
(item no. 781)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1700 - 1799
Lineages Drigung (Kagyu)
Size 66.04x46.99cm (26x18.50in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.# P1998.4.6
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Object/Concept

Interpretation / Description

Vajradhara (Tibetan: dor je chang. English: the Vajra Holder): surrounded by meditational deities below with Indian adepts and Tibetan lamas seated above - the Field for the Accumulation of Merit (Tib.: tsog shing).

Tibetan: Tsog shing Sanskrit: Vajradhara Tibetan: Dor je chang

At the top center arranged on billowing clouds are Vajradhara with the mahasiddhas Tilopa and Naropa at the right and left, followed by the Tibetan translator Marpa, the yogi Milarepa, the doctor and monk Gampopa, Pagmodrupa (former student of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo) and two additional figures in the line of Pagmodrupa.

At the center of the composition is Vajradhara, seated in front of a large palace, with the female personification of wisdom directly above - Prajnaparamita. Directly behind those two figures, one above the other, are Tibetan books stacked in even rows.

At Vajradhara's right side is Shakyamuni Buddha. On the left side is Chaturbhuja Avalokiteshvara. In froint stands the principal meditational deity Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini. At the lower right of Chakrasamvara is Sahaja Heruka Hevajra and Chaturbhuja Mahakala. On the left is Vajravarahi and Shri Devi.

At the bottom center is white Vajrasattva with a seated lama to the side, followers and donors figures.

Jeff Watt 11-2000

Numbered Image:
1. Vajradhara
2. Tilopa
3. Naropa
4. Marpa
5. Milarepa
6. Gampopa
7. Pagmodruba
8. (unidentified)
9. (unidentified)
10. Prajnaparamita
11. Vajradhara
12. Shakyamui Buddha
13. Dharma (books)
14. Chaturbhuja Avalokiteshvara
15. Heruka Chakrasamvara
16. Heruka Hevajra
17. Vajravarahi Yogini
18. Chaturbhuja Mahakala
19. Shri Devi
20. Vajrasattva
21. Donor Figure

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 8
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara Main Page
Subject: Refuge Field Main Page
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara, Solitary
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara (Accumulation)
Subject: Refuge Field, Drigung Kagyu
Subject: Refuge Field, Kagyu Page
Tradition: Drigung Kagyu Main Page
Subject: Greyscale - Figurative & General Composition
Subject: Refuge Field Masterworks