Asa Hershoff (Lama Asa) — Rainbow Body, Part 7 (thangka, 2020)

Creator

Shri devi (Palden Lhamo), Central Tibet, circa 1750-1850.

« Mahakala, Protector of the Tent » (Unknown Artist)

“Om Mani Padme Hum” :: Buddha Eye Mantra :: Mandala :: Thangka

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“Faith comes and goes. It rises and falls like the tides of an invisible ocean. If it is presumptuous to think that faith will stay with you forever, it is just as presumptuous to think that unbelief will.” ― Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor

“When the holy Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara had truly grasped the transcendent wisdom, he realized that visible form is only illusion. The same applies to its perception, to its names and categories, to discriminative intellect and finally even to our consciousness. They are all illusion. With this realizaton he was beyond all sorrow and bitterness.

Disciple Sariputra! The material is not different from the immaterial. The immaterial and the material are in fact one and the same thing. The same applies to perception, concepts, discriminative thinking and consciousness. They are neither existing nor not existing.

Sariputra! All things therefore they are in themselves not good and not bad, they are not increasing and not decreasing.

Therefore one may say there are no such things as form, perception, concepts, thinking process, and consciousness. Our senses such as eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are misleading us to illusion; thus one may also say there is no reality in visible form, sound, smell, taste, touch and mindknowledge. There are also no such things as the realms of sense from sight up to mind, and no such things as the links of existence from ignorance and its end to old age and death and their end. Also the caturāryasatyāni are nonexistent, just as there is no such thing as wisdom and also no gain.

Because the holy Bodhisattva who relies on transcendent wisdom knows that there is no gain, he has no worries and also no fear. Beyond all illusion he has reached the space of highest Nirvana.

All Buddhas of the past, present and future, found highest perfect knowedge because they relied on transcendental wisdom.

Therefore we ought to know that the great verse of the transcendent wisdom is unsurpassed in its splendor, and that it appeases truly all pain. It reads:

GATE, GATE, PARAGATE, PARASAMGATE BODHISVAHA!”

-The Heart Sutra.

Wisdom dakinis, sky dancers, are the feminine embodiment of bliss and freedom that are at the essence of enlightenment. They can arise in any form, terrifying or stunningly beautiful, to aid tantric practitioners in cutting through their ego.

Dakinis will reveal that which you yourself are blind to and that which gets in the way of your path to truth.

All women are dakinis one way or another.

Chakrasamvara and Consort ca 17th century. Tibet. Mineral pigments with gold on cloth. Chakrasamvara, which translates to "wheel of bliss," is one of the most popular yidam (meditations deity) in Tantric Buddhism after the 11th century. As the principal deities of the Anuttarayoga Tantra of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, Chakrasamvara can appear in several dozen different forms, from simple to complex, peaceful to wrathful. Here, Chakrasamvara and his consort Vajravarahi are both shown in wrathful form, standing over Kalaratri and Black Bhairava, symbolizing triumph over ego and ignorance. (via Instagram: Kapoor Galleries)

A monumental Imperial silk brocade thangka of Mahakala, Yongle period

134 x 87 inches, 340 x 221 cm. Estimate: US$800,000-1,200,000.

Failed to sell Sotheby's, New York, 21 March 2024.

The textile was produced in the Imperial workshops of the Yongle Emperor (1360-1424) during his reign (1403-1424) as a gift to a high-ranking Tibetan lama and depicts Mahakala Panjarnatha.

If you want to look at a big image just copy the following into a new window:

http://sothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/media-desk/92/a6/b53249fa445296fb14d3fde38e37/n11418-cxsj2-t1-02.jpg

I posted another artwork depicting Mahakala back in 2019. You'll find it by clicking any of the tags below. Again, you can look at a big image.

In yoga tantra, highest dimension of Buddhist practice, there is no distinction between gender. In this final life in which you attain Buddhahood, there is no difference whether you are male or female. ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama Art: thangka painting of Buddha Samantabhadra in sacred union with Samantabhadri.

Thangkas I got from the UK based charity Tibet Relief Fund (only ship to UK unfortunately)

Top: Om mani padme hum thangka

Bottom: White Tara thangka

Thangka of Gold Medicine Buddha

November 2003 PDX Portland Oregon U.S.A. 

© KOJI ARAKI Art Works

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）

« Bhaiṣajyaguru » (Healing Buddha, Medecine Buddha · Unidentified Artist)

Thangka Depicting Simhavaktra, Tibet, 18th century:: Painting 39 x 31 cm. (15 ⅜ x 12 ¼ in.)

Source: christies.com

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“Hey you, expecting results without effort! So sensitive! So long-suffering! You, in the clutches of death, acting like an immortal! Hey, sufferer, you are destroying yourself! Now that you have met with the boat of human life, cross over the mighty river of suffering. Fool, there is no time to sleep! It is hard to catch this boat again.”

— Śāntideva, Bodhicaryāvatāra, Crosby & Skilton tr. (7:13-14)

Newari Style Bodhisattva Padmapani Lokeshvara in 24 carat gold, gouache and acrylic colors on cotton canvas.