The Resolve to Enlightenment

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The Buddha is surrounded with eight personages. Four more personages are depicted outside the inner square. The remaining area inside the square is filled with stylized designs. There are four gateways in the square. The walls of the square are decorated with floral designs. Over the gates are houses in which are seated protector deities.

The upper center of the building depicts Heruka Yab-Yum. Two divinities are depicted on either side of each gate outside the walls. The square is surrounded with four circles. The outer circle is of the charnel ground, followed by the circle of fire fence, which is florally rendered here. Then there is a circle of auspicious symbols, divinities, and wisdom fire. After this comes a circle of lotus petals. Here the spiritual realm begins and one enters the mandala.

The upper center of the painting is rendered with the figures of Vajrakila Father-Mother. There are two wrathful deities each side of Vajrakila. There is wisdom fire with cloud areole behind Vajrakila Father-Mother. The upper left corner is filled with the figure of Prajnaparamita. She is seated in the courtyard before a shrine and is attended by two deities. The upper right corner is rendered with the figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara in the courtyard before a shrine and also attended by two deities. Below the figures of Prajnaparamita and Shadakshari Lokeshvara, wathful deities are dancing and below them are Garuda and Dragon, respectively.

At the bottom, two Adepts are depicted under the trees in the left and right corners. The Bottom center is rendered with the figures of Heruka Father-Mother, flanked by ferocious deities.

The thangka is replete with the figures of wrathful and other deities. According to the Sadhanamala Akshobhya is associated with the wrathful deities. Amongst the deities emanating from Akshobhya are Heruka and his Yab-Yum form, Vajrakila, Hevajra and so on. The painting is finely drawn and painted. It is very much suitable for esoteric sadhana and practices.

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.