Padmasambhava is commonly seen depicted at the center of a Copper Coloured Mountain painting composition. Although all of the many paintings look generally the same, they are in fact all different and belong to a variety of different Nyingma lineage traditions - along with some Kagyu traditions.
The Namcho Tradition of 'Revealed Treasure' discovered by Mingyur Dorje (1645-1667) presents a variation on the theme of Amitabha in Sukhavati with the addition of a number of Tantric elements which differs from all of the other depictions.
Amitabha depicted in a circular format is the second of the three format composition types. This format appears to have originated in or around Tashi Lhunpo Monastery of Tsang Province, Tibet. The subject of the composition is dominated by a large circular enclosure containing the essential elements of the painting. The large figure of Amitabha Buddha is presented in the middle along with a tree and palace, accompanied by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas.
Amitabha depicted in the Sukhavati Heaven is a common image in Himalayan and Tibetan art. It is an iconic symbol and subject representing Mahayana Buddhism in general. The basic figures, characters and scenes are common for most representations found in the different traditions despite having several composition and artistic styles and types.
There are three main composition types with the first being the [1] square format followed by the [2] circular format and finally the depiction of Sukhavati based on the [3] Namcho 'Revealed Treasure' Tradition of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.
Who is the God Kubera in Tantric Buddhism and why are so many deities identified as Kubera?
The sculpture on the left is not Kubera - it is Vaishravana Riding a Lion!
Kubera is a name for a God of Wealth in Indian Buddhist literature. He is also closely associated with Vaishravana, the God of the North, who inhabits the Northern slopes of Mount Sumeru in Pali and Sanskrit Mahayana literature.
Unfortunately, almost all figures identified as Kubera in Tibetan and Himalayan art are not accurately identified. The name Kubera has essentially come to be used as a category for a type of deity, a designation for all deities that have a certain appearance but have not necessarily been precisely identified. The problematic way in which the word Kubera is being used in the West actually has a more proper designation and definition in Tibetan Art. That designation is 'King Appearance' which is one of the traditional figurative forms in Tibetan art. It also has a prominent place in the modern system of the Eleven Figurative Forms.
Maitreya is quite often found depicted in a standing posture. He can appear in either Bodhisattva appearance or in Buddha appearance. There are also many regional artistic styles from Kashmir in the West, Ngari to Central Tibet, Nepal or Pala India. Each of these major regions have different artistic expressions and aesthetics. Even the jewelry and slight twist in the body can be different.
Maitreya is still identified by the unique and shared attributes such as the stupa, water flask, wheel and krishnasara deerskin draped across the left shoulder. The deerskin is a shared attribute with Avalokiteshvara.
Maitreya is depicted in a number of standard postures and iconographic forms. On occasion Maitreya is shown in a seated posture with the right leg pendant similar to forms of Avalokiteshvara.
In these representations Maitreya is identified by either the stupa on the crown of the head or on a flower blossom, the water flask, a wheel, or krishnasara deerskin over the left shoulder. He can also be tentatively identified through a process of elimination by noting a lack of attributes associated with Manjushri or Avalokiteshvara. The example above is identified by the stupa on the crown of the head which is unique to Maitreya.
A Bodhisattva in a 'relaxed posture' is a way of describing the sitting manner of the figures of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya and the God Indra. These four in particular, and with examples, portray a specific look and attitude of a seated bodhisattva (plus one god). It is possible that other bodhisattvas in the same posture will be identified.
Avalokiteshvara, like Manjushri and Maitreya, is sometimes depicted in an almost identical relaxed pose with the right knee raised.
Avalokiteshvara, as a sculptural representation, in a 'Thinking' posture is commonly found in North Western India, Kashmir and Western Tibet. The form is characterized by the figure seated in a relaxed posture typically with the left leg pendant and the right drawn up. The most significant characteristics are the right arm with the elbow resting on the knee and hand raised with the index finger placed against the side of the face - head slightly tilted to the right. There are a number of different variations shown with the examples on the gallery page.
From among the many sculptural depictions of the figure of Manjushri, some have the right leg or left leg pendant. In these depictions the general appearance of Manjushri portrays him holding a sword and book, or sometimes with the hands in the Dharma Teaching gesture.
There are several Tantric texts describing Manjushri with this general physical appearance. One such text is from the Bari Gyatsa of Bari Lotsawa Rinchen Drag (1040-1112) and further elucidated upon by Konchog Lhundrub (1497-1557) in his edited version.
[8] "Vidhyadhara Pitaka Samkshepta: [Above] a lotus and moon is white Manjushri Arapachana. Holding a sword and a book, the same ornaments and garments, seated in the lalitaraja [posture]."
The important points in this very short translated description are the mention of the sword and book, and more importantly the 'lalitaraja' posture which states clearly a non-vajrasana posture and non-sattvasana posture. 'Lalitaraja' is sometimes translated as a posture of 'royal ease' which is characterized by one leg, left or right, extended forward.
Of the ten images below six of them have the hands folded in front of the heart in the Teaching gesture. Four of the depictions have a sword and book either held directly in the hands or placed above utpala flowers with the stems held in the hands.
Manjushri as a sculptural figure fashioned from metal, clay or wood, can be depicted in a standing posture. The majority of such images represent a non-iconic (non-Tantra) form of the deity that simply portrays Manjushri as an important figure and student of the Buddha from the Mahayana Sutra literature.
Standing representations of Manjushri might also be created to accompany statues of the Buddha where a bodhisattva figure would stand on the right and left side of the central Buddha, or possibly the figure of Amitabha Buddha. The most common accompanying figures are Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, Vajrapani and Manjushri.
Manjushri 'holding a book' is an iconographic characteristic of several different forms of Manjushri - all of which are meditational deities (yidam, ishtadevata). These forms according to Tantric classification belong to the Kriya, Charya and Yoga Tantras. Early textual descriptions, prior to the 13th century, often place the text of the Prajnaparamita in the left hand and next to the heart of Manjushri.
Over the centuries the depicted iconography of these Manjushri forms changes. The Prajnaparamita book gets moved, relocated, to the top of a blue utpala flower blossoming next to the left ear, with the stem held between the ring finger and thumb, in the right hand of Manjushri. The most popular forms of Manjushri undergo the relocation of the text. Some less popular and much less commonly depicted forms of Manjushri are still described and depicted holding the text but the majority of depictions have adopted the new utpala and Prajnaparamita iconography.
Lachog Sengge, 1468-1535, was a religious teacher, scholar and a patron of the arts. There are numerous examples of paintings in museum and private collections around the world that were commissioned by Lhachog Sengge. The objects are all identified by inscription along the bottom front or on the reverse. Many of the paintings are dedicated to his personal teachers while others are dedicated to lineage teachers of the more distant past.
Manjushri in a relaxed sitting posture is a popular sculptural form in India, Nepal and Tibet. In this iconographic style Manjushri is typically depicted in a seated posture with the right knee raised and the wrist or elbow of the right arm resting atop the knee. The left hand is pressed downward onto the seat slightly behind the horizontal left leg. The upper torso of the body and head generally display a pronounced curve imitating the 'tribanga' form of standing figures.
Both hands can each hold the stem of a flower blossom. Usually the right hand holds a lotus blossom and the left an utpala (lily, iris). In a number of examples the left flower blossom supports a book or text representing the Prajnaparmita Sutras. The sculptural form representing the text on the left flower is sometimes in the shape of a cylinder. This is actually depicting a metal tube which is the outer box or container for the sutra text.
Again, with some examples of Manjushri in this form he is wearing a type of meditation belt extending around the waist on the proper left side and circling the right leg just below the knee.
There are iconographic examples of Avalokiteshvara which an appear very similar to Manjushri as depicted in these examples.
Arhat (Tibetan: ne tan): a Sanskrit term for Buddhist saints, more correctly in Tibetan meaning elder or 'sthavira' in Sanskrit. The arhats represent the earliest followers of the Buddha, always found depicted in a group of sixteen, they are painted on cloth, wall murals, and fashioned of metal, stone, clay, or wood.
An early iconographic source for the individual descriptions of the arhats is the verse text Praise to the Sixteen Arhats attributed to the Kashmiri teacher Shakyashri Bhadra of the 12th/13th century.
The earliest known paintings in Tibet are found as wall murals in Dratang Monastery in Central Tibet. However, the Dratang arhat paintings do not appear to depict the group of sixteen which gain popularity in Tibetan art some time later.
A gallery of Tibetan Kings and Ministers has been added to the Masterworks Page.
King Appearance in Himalayan and Tibetan art is a specific type of iconographic form included as one of the Eleven Figurative Forms. The principal characteristics are the face often with a stern look achieved by upturned eyebrows, glaring eyes, accompanied by a mustache and goatee. The clothing is heavy and layered with multiple colours, a cloth head covering, or hat, sometimes with a small jeweled crown, and boots on the feet.
There are four important subjects and distinctions to be made with regard to the various types of kings in Himalayan and Tibetan art.
[1] Kings with King Appearance
[2] Kings that don't have King Appearance
[3] Kings that belong to Sets
[4] Deities with King Appearance
In Himalayan and Tibetan art the word 'buddha' can have two general meanings. The first meaning belongs to the religious definition where 'buddha' describes a completely enlightened being having reached the peak of the Ten Bodhisattva Grounds (levels, stages) and progressed further to a 13th level known as complete Buddhahood.
In art 'buddha' also has the secondary meaning of 'Buddha Appearance' which refers to figures that have the form of a buddha as defined by the early Buddhist literature describing the physical characteristics of a buddha such as, for example, the Thirty-two Major and Eighty Minor Marks of Perfection.
