Tankha Arts, Indo Tibetan Buddhism - The Buddhist Path to Liberation... Video arranged and done by Facundo Soares Gache... By the captivating sound in a Puja ceremony perform by the Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery in Tibet -- We will take a wonderful journey into the world of Tibetan arts and Buddha's teachings. Tibetan Thangkas and their Practical Significance on the Path. Thangkas; are a painting on silk with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala of some sort. The thangka is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting but consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered over which a textile is mounted and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk. Generally, thangkas last a very long time and retain much of their lustre, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture won't affect the quality of the silk. It is sometimes called a scroll-painting. The literal translation of the Tibetan word THANG KA means 'recorded message'. Thangkas communicate a message to the practitioner, serving as an aid to teaching and as an aid to meditation through the visualisation of the deity. It is a medium through which the Buddhist philosophy can be explained. Originally lamas and monks used scroll paintings to instruct the Buddhist Dharma (teachings). These paintings were easily transported and unrolled to suit the needs of the mainly nomadic population. The lama would go to a village, unroll a thangka and use it to illustrate their tales on Buddhist philosophy when narrating before an audience. Thangkas also have public ceremonial uses. Up until today some monasteries possess huge (usually appliqué) thangkas that are unrolled on certain holidays for viewing and worship. What is the purpose of a thangka, what use was it originally intended for? Thangkas are intended to serve as a record of, and guide for contemplative experience. Thangka, when created properly, perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thangka image of their yidam, or personal meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing "themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities. In this way, thangkas are intended to convey iconographic information in a pictorial manner. A text of the same meditation would supply similar details in written descriptive form. Eminent teachers will create a thangka to express their own insight and experience. This type of thangka comes from a traditionally trained meditation master and artist who create a new arrangement of forms to convey his insight so that his students may benefit from it. For example, you might be instructed by your teacher to imagine yourself as a specific figure in a specific setting. You could use a thangka as a reference for the details of posture, attitude, colour, clothing. etc., of a figure located in a field, or in a palace, possibly surrounded by many other figures of meditation teachers, your family, etc. On a deeper level thangka paintings are the visual expression of the fully awakened state of enlightenment, this being the ultimate goal of the Buddhist spiritual path. That's why a thangka is sometimes called 'the roadmap to enlightenment'. To sketch the figures in a thangka the painter needs an exact knowledge of the measurements and proportions of each deity as established by Buddhist iconography and artistic practice. A grid containing these proportions is essential to establish the continuity and correct transmission of the figures.

• published: 14 Jun 2013
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