Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Teacher (Lama) - Gyurme Dorje

བླ་མ། 喇嘛
(item no. 65032)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1600 - 1699
Lineages Nyingma
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.#C2002.1.1
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Person

Appearance: Lay Person

Gender: Male

TBRC: bdr:P7

Interpretation / Description

Gyurme Dorje, Terdag Lingpa (1646-1714): the founder of Mindrolling monastery, a prolific author and a revealer of hidden treasure teachings (Tibetan: terma) accompanied by Lochen Dharmashri and Pema Gyurme Gyatso.

Biographical Details Drup Tab Dojo Bumzang

Stately in appearance with a kind face, a beard and moustache showing signs of age with encrouching grey, he gazes forward with a slight tilt of the head. The right hand is raised in the gesture of blessing with the thumb and index fingers slightly touching betraying the shape of a vase with the three outstretched fingers imitating decorative peacock feathers. Resting in the lap, the left hand holds a square box representing a treasure casket, the sacred vessel of Revealed Treasure (Tib: terma). Wearing predominantly white robes and a shirt of green and orange indicating his status as a householder, he wears an orange meditation cloak wrapped about the shoulders and lower body. Atop the head is a blue lotus hat edged with red and gold, marked with a sun and moon emblem, crowned with a golden half vajra, encircled by an aureola of green and pink and further framed by lotus blossoms and dark green foliage. Seated atop a cushioned throne with a blue backrest draped with a white scarf, he sits before a table filled with personal ritual objects, books and a teacup.

At the top center is Padmasambhava in the 'form of all the conquerors of the three times' with the right hand holding an upraised vajra and the left extended across the knee in a wrathful gesture. At the upper right and left are two buddha figures seated in the open sky encircled by spheres of radiant rainbow light.

At the bottom left is Minling Lochen Dharmashri (1654-1718) with the right hand held up in a gesture of blessing and the left holding a folio book in the lap. He wears the robes of a monk and the lotus hat of the Nyingma tradition.

Lochen Dharmashri

At the right side is Pema Gyurme Gyatso (1686-1718), the heir to Mindroling, and the son of Terdag Lingpa. In the right hand he holds a stylus and in the left a tablet for writing; wearing the robes of a monk a red pandita hat.

Pema Gyurme Gyatso Min dro ling

Jeff Watt 1-2002

Secondary Images
Related Items
Exhibition Appearances
Exhibition: Padmasambhava, the Second Buddha

Publications
Publication: Selection of Works - Painting (RMA)
Iconography: Text Collections (Sanskrit/Tibetan/English)

Thematic Sets
Collection of RMA: Best of Collection 2
RMA: How or Why an Object was Acquired
Textile: Composition & Finishing
Subject: Hats (Nyingma)
Subject: Inscriptions (Historical Information)
Tradition: Nyingma Tradition Main Page
Tradition: Mindrolling (Nyingma)
Tibet: Mindrolling Monastery Main Page
Painting: Portraits Page
Tradition: Nyingma Teachers (Paintings)
Subject: Black Hats & Blue Hats Main Page
Nyingma: Teacher Masterworks (Painting)
Textile: Brocade Mounts (Examples)
Teacher: Terdag Lingpa Gyurme Dorje Page
Collection of RMA: Historically Important Works
Subject: Hats (Lotus Hat)
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art (RMA): Main Page
Collection of RMA: Painting Masterworks Page
Collection of RMA: Persons Masterworks