Paramasukha Chakrasamvara in Yab Yum

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He is an emanation of Akshobhya Buddha, as is Hevajra. He is also sometimes called a form of Hevajra. Thus he belongs to the Heruka family of the anuttara yoga tantra. Following his meditational path will lead the practitioner to the bliss of supreme enlightenment. The supreme bliss wheel integration tantra is considered the ultimate mother tantra, in that its literature has the most developed technology of contemplative cultivation of the clear light of freedom (shunyata-prabhasvara)

There are many forms of Chakrasamvara. In this present painting he is depicted with four heads and twelve-armed. Textual descriptions describe Chakrasamvara as displaying the nine moods, among which his three physical moods are of majesty, heroism, and menace; his three verbal moods of laughter, wrath and ferocity; while his three mental moods are of compassion, attentiveness, and serenity.

In Meditations, Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi are visualized as generating from within the heart of the practitioner in a brilliant red aura of fire that signifies the flame of transcendent insight (maha jnanagni). His aureole is radiating agni. The practice of Chakrasamvara began in india. According to a legend, the Buddha emanated the mandala-palace and adopted this archetype deity form to teach the tantra to Shiva and Parvati on top of Mount Kailash at the headwaters of the Ganga in southern Tibet. According to another legend, Shiva took the form of Buddhist deity Chakrasamvara and he brought his teachings to Tibet. It is also said that both Shiva and Chakrasamvara are supposed to dwell on the Mount of Kailash, a place of pilgrimage both for Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists.

Chakrasamvara is shown here in terrific sexual embrace with his shakti Vajravarahi, symbolizing the blissful union of compassion and wisdom that is the actually of enlightenment. He stands in alidha posture of outstretched legs on a sun disc, which is florally rendered here, on which lie two figures being trampled underfoot - Bhairava and Kalaratri. He is blue in color. Among his four faces, front is blue, his right face is white, while his left faces are green and red colors, respectively. He is twelve armed, symbolizing twelve links of dependant origination. With the two principal arms, in vajra-humkara-mudra he carries the vajra and vajra-tipped bell, and embrace his consort. With second pair he carries the elephant hide, which is draped across his back. In the remaining four right hands he holds the vajra axe, a damaru, vajra-chopper and the trident. His remaining four left hands hold the cranium-cup full of blood, noose, severed head of Brahma and vajra-tipped khatvanga.

His hair is upswept in knots with decoration on it. He wears Heruka ornaments consisting of earrings, necklace and bracelets; scarves and a tiger-skin skirt; a skull crown with jewel; crescent on top of the head, an attribute of lord Shiva, and garland of a fresh human heads. His shakti has one face and two arms. She is naked because she has set free from the illusions that hide the essence of things. Her both the legs are wrapped around his waist. She holds a vajra-marked chopper in her right hand and her left hand is behind his neck. She is adorned with gold and bone ornaments – skull crown, gold earrings, armlets, bracelet, bone girdle, and garland of human skulls.

The symbolism of these figures is so complex that only a guru experienced in the Chakrasamvara system can explain this. Chakrasamvara and his shakti unite all opposites in their sexual embrace. They are really one figure, appearing as two. Their union represents different integrated aspects of one Enlightened consciousness. They exemplify what in Tantra is called yuganaddha - ‘two in oneness’. Further, female figure, the yum or Mother, is also referred to as the prajna - for she is represents wisdom, the intuitive realization of Emptiness. This wisdom-view applies to everything in universe. Because nothing has a fixed nature of its own, there are no fixed boundaries or divisions between things. Everything is of one empty nature. Hence the yum has only one face, symbolizing this essential sameness of all things. In contradistinction to her, the maleyab, Father, represents the compassionate activity of the Enlightened mind – working in the world to awaken beings to their true empty nature.

There is arch-shaped wisdom fire aureole. Six dragons and stylized clouds are depicted around the figures of both the deities. The area outside the aureole is decorated with vines and lotus flowers. The upper corners depict Garuda and dragon, respectively, while the bottom corners with auspicious symbols. The brocade is decorated with stylized vishva-vajra, flowers and good luck symbols.

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.