Built in the mid 15th century with work starting in 1427, the murals of the Gyantse Kumbum are undoubtedly the greatest source of Tantric Buddhist iconographic forms anywhere in Tibet, or likely the world. It will take some time before all of the 600 plus images are properly catalogued on the HAR website.
Bon and Buddhist monastic shirts don't always fold in the same direction.
With Buddhist sculpture the shirt typically folds to the right. However, with sets of paintings depicting lineage teachers it is very different and it can go either way. A very good example of this alternating folds is found with the Karma Kamtsang Mahamudra Lineage painting set from Rumtek Monastery. This set of paintings depicts a central Vajradhara in a single composition and each following lineage teacher, also in a single composition, is staggered to the right or the left of the central axis of the painting. In the early compositions of the set all of the paintings that have the teacher on the left have the shirt folded to the left. All of the early teachers on the right with shirts have them folded to the right. The later teachers in the same series begin to be less rigid and some are folded left and some folded right regardless of their position to the right or left of the central axis. This establishes that there is a flexibility with artists painting Buddhist subjects.
The shirts of the Bon tradition are similar to the yungdrung symbol. The yungdrung can only properly be depicted turning to the left. Buddhists generally don't have a preference either way for the direction a yungdrung points.
The Bon religion typically folds the shirt to the left side in the majority of examples for both painting and sculpture found on the HAR website. Buddhist shirts more often than not will fold to the right side, however for the Buddhists it depends on the artist and the composition.
The Gyantse Dzong (Fortress) sits high up on a craggy steep hill in the middle of the fertile valley that supports the town of Gyantse. The Dzong has numerous rooms filled with murals of all types. The oldest of the murals are likely to be the many mandala paintings in the Mandala Room at the very top of the Dzong.
The Town of Gyantse has two overwhelmingly beautiful locations of interest. The first and most striking is the Dzong (fortress) on top of a steep craggy hill at the center of the town. The Dzong has numerous rooms filled with murals of all types. The oldest of the murals are likely to be the many large format mandala paintings in the Mandala Room at the top of the Dzong.
The second location is the walled monastic complex with numerous buildings. The most architecturally striking is the Kumbum, a stupa shaped temple with scores of small outer chapels. To the right side of the Kumbum is the Main Temple of Gyantse with several floors and many rooms filled with murals and spectacular sculpture of all sizes.
The Manjushri Cave is located on the North side of Sakya slightly West of the large patch of white earth (sakya). The cave was made famous by Sachen Kunga Nyingpo when he was twelve years old and had entered into a strict six month retreat on the practice of Arapachana Manjushri. Early on there were obstacles but they were removed using the practice of Nila Achala, wrathful, blue in colour, in a kneeling posture. Towards the end of the retreat Arya Manjushri appeared to the young Kunga Nyingpo and spoke the four lines of the Separation From the Four Attachments.
"With attachment to this life - there is no Dharma practitioner;
Attachment to samsara - no renunciation;
Attachment to self-purpose - no Enlightenment Thought;
If grasping arises - there is no view."
The image above is a 2007 photograph of the cave entrance and the shrine inside. A building has also been constructed around the cave to help preserve it from the elements. Almost all of the buildings on the North side of the river are reconstructions built from the 1980s to the present.
The Protector Temple of Lhakang Chenmo is a free standing building within the massive compound surrounded by the 30 foot fortress walls. The outside entrance way ceiling is decorated with the stuffed skins of jackals. The shrine is mainly populated with larger than life size masks of the principal Sakya protector deities: Panjarnata Mahakala, Brahmanarupa Mahakala, Shri Devi, Ekajati, and the Five Activity Deities. One corner of the temple is dedicated to the Bamo spirits, a classification of witch that is unique to Sakya - sometimes known as the Three Witches of Sakya. Bamo are subjugated witches that now serve as protector spirits for the Sakya Tradition. They are typically represented as masks with distinctive features for each of the commonly invoked witches: Mamo Rikyi, Namkha Drolma and Shangmo.
It is hard to say whether this building is refurbished or completely re-built in past the few decades.
There are numerous other smaller protector chapels in the Lhakang Chenmo complex. The towers on the outer walls have numerous chapels of various types.
The Ushnishavijaya Stupa which is believed to have survived the destruction of the North Monastery was discovered under the rubble of the roof and walls. It is the stupa in which the mortal remains of Bari Lotsawa Rinchen Drag (1040-1111) were placed after his death. The stupa is considered one of the four precious sights of Sakya Town.
Incredible detail images of the Hevajra Chapel of Gonkar Monastery, Central Tibet, have been added to the Ariana Maki Photographic Archive. This monastery is known as the home base of Khyentse Chenmo who is believed to be the founder of the Khyenri style of Tibetan art.
The Sakya Monastery & Town Page has been updated with 600 images. Not all of the images have been divided into their subject or location themes. This will happen over the next couple of weeks. The Manjushri Cave has been added. This is the location where Sachen Kunga Nyingpo had direct communication with Arya Manjushri during a six month retreat. The Ushnishavijaya Stupa has been added. This is the final resting place for the body of Bari Lotsawa Dharma Drag. Both of these sacred sights are located in the same building on the North side of Sakya to the left of the white patch of earth. The protector chapel of Lhakang Chenmo, the main South Monastery, has also been added.
Additional images of Drolma Lhakang, Central Tibet, have been added to the Ariana Maki Photographic Archive. This temple, located just outside of Lhasa, was visited by Jowo Atisha in the 11th century.
Additional images of Dratang Monastery, Central Tibet, have been added to the Ariana Maki Photographic Archive. This monastery was established by Traba Ngonshe in the 11th century.
These murals depict the town of Sakya prior to 1959. They are located in one of the corner towers of Lhakang Chenmo Monastery, Sakya, Tibet. Although recently painted they offer a glimpse into the Sakya of old. Most of the architectural representations in the mural and the various regions of the cityscape are accompanied by name inscriptions.
Rwa Lotsawa (b.1016) is one of the most controversial Buddhist teachers in Tibetan history. Was he a hero or a villain? His tradition boasts that he killed/murdered thirteen Lamas - many of them famous. Rwa Lotsawa is also responsible for popularizing many Vajrabhairava and Krishna Yamari traditions of practice.
Kau Drag Dzong is the most famous retreat center of Sakya. It is located just south of the Lhakang Chenmo temple and up a steep river gorge half way to the village of Kau - famous for its hot water and healing springs. Kau Drag Dzong was the hermitage of Lama Nam Ka'upa the student of Nyen Lotsawa. Sachen Kunga Nyingpo studied at this location with Lama Nam Kau'pa. These teachers are all well known for the practices of Chaturmukha Mahakala and the creation of the public, or generic, form of Chaturmukha as Brahmanarupa Mahakala.
Goose Valley: the location is far West Tibet, sparsely populated and very isolated.
Above a salt lake is a small group of caves. In the largest cave are two partially destroyed stupas. Originally the sides of the stupas were decorated with paintings.
The stupa on the left has a lower square structure. Adorning the square are depictions of the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha. The upper vase-like portion of the stupa depicts various Tantric deities. A form of Vajrapani and retinue is immediately recognized among the many images.
Aryadeva is traditionally considered the most famous student of Nagarjuna. Both of these teachers are included in the group known as the Six Ornaments and Two Excellent Ones of the Southern Continent.
The nine added images are from a series of pen and ink drawings on paper illustrating the life story of Aryadeva. They were created in the 1960s by a respected Tibetan artist known generally by the title of Guru-ji.
Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal 1392-1481 [TBRC P318], the famous author of the Blue Annals - a history of Tibetan Buddhism.
There are three images of Go Lotsawa on the HAR website. All three images, one sculpture, one illumination, and one block print image, appear to be based on an original character filled portrait painting or portrait sculpture. The facial characteristics of the three images are remarkably similar.
The Svarodaya Manuscript is of Shaiva origin thought to originate in Kashmir over a millennium ago. It is essentially a book of magic and tied very closely to astrology and the astrological magic of India. The subject of the text is also sometimes referred to as martial magic because of its origin in relation to a battle between the God Realm and the Asura Realm. The great Indian God Shiva is credited with the creation of the Svarodaya manuscript. The source of the text is a dialogue between Shiva and Shakti.
Many of the approximately 130 magical and astrological practices in the manuscript relate to marriage, harvest, child birth, and the many other normal and typical subjects associated with Indian magic.
The manuscript entered the Tibetan Buddhist world via Jumla in West Nepal and brought to Tibet where it was popularized amongst some family lineage groups. The text enjoyed a much greater popularity at the time of Desi Sanggye Gyatso in the 17th century. The subject of the Svarodaya was included in the monumental work of the Vaidurya Karpo (White Beryl) treatise on Tibetan astrology.
An early block print text of the Svarodaya from the 17th century contains many of the magical images - in the text they are called chakras. Several hand written manuscripts with some drawings included amongst the pages are also known to exist (see example). Two separate and unique large scrolls depicting all of the images of the Svarodaya have been identified along with a fully illuminated folio text with a drawing style very closely related to the Svarodaya scroll on the HAR website.
The Nyingjei Lam Collection has been updated and the various subject categories have been divided into separate and easy to browse pages.
The collection includes outstanding examples of Tibetan sculpture as well as works from Eastern India, Kashmir and Nepal. A great strength of the collection is the exquisite portrait bronzes. (See Nyingjei Lam on the Asian Art web site).
Subject Categories:
1. Buddhas
2. Indian Teachers
3. Tibetan Teachers
4. Deities
5. Protectors
6. Miscellaneous
Buddhakapala, meaning the skull of the enlightened one, is a meditational deity belonging to the Wisdom Class, or Mother Tantra, of Anuttarayoga Tantra of Tantric Buddhism.
There are several different forms of Buddhakapala. Sometimes he appears with a consort and sometimes without. He can appear in single aspect or with a mandala of eight or twenty-five retinue deities.
In the most basic form Buddhakapala appears as described below.
"Buddhakapala is blue with one face and four arms. The right two hold a double-sided drum and a curved knife. The left two hold a skullcup and a katvanga staff. Having three eyes and the pile of hair adorned with a vishva-vajra and crescent moon, a crown of five dry skulls and a necklace of fifty wet, adorned with the six mudras, an elephant hide as a lower garment, standing in a dancing manner, half vajra, expressing the nine moods of dance. [He] embraces the consort Vishvasukha Matri, red, [holding] in the right a curved knife and a skullcup in the left embracing the Lord, surrounded by the eight goddesses." (Based on Ocean of Meditational Deities text of Taranata, 1575–1634).
