Sacred Arts of Tibet (.pdf) - Asian Art Museum | Education

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Slide 6 Sacred Arts of Tibet Who is the Goddess of the White Umbrella? Ushnisha-Sitatapattra (The Goddess of the White Umbrella) 1800–1900 Tibet Colors on cotton The Avery Brundage Collection B76D10 The Goddess of the White Umbrella is one of many powerful female deities. She manifests her power with her thousand heads, arms, and legs. She has eyes on the palms of each of her hands and soles of her feet, and each head has three eyes. Standing triumphantly within an aureole blazing with the fire of wisdom, the goddess tramples the enemies of spiritual attainment (such as anger, greed and delusion) with her numerous feet. In Ushnisha-Sitatapatra’s primary hands are the white umbrella of protection and the wheel of the Dharma (the Buddha’s teaching). Her other hands brandish various weapons and form a halo around her. In front of the goddess are three Mahakalas (enlightened beings who protect those on the path to Buddhahood). Above her is a small image of Buddha Shakyamuni in his form as the Lord of Nagas (serpent divinities). What do the demons under her feet represent? Demons in the Buddhist sense are the bad qualities within all living beings that hinder our path to 38 Asian Art Museum
Sacred Arts of Tibet Buddhahood, such as greed, hatred, and pride. Buddhists have compassion for all beings, even the demons, who must be subdued and brought back into the fold. Every being in the universe will eventually attain enlightenment, including the most evil. For all Buddhists, there is no ultimate evil, only delusions represented by demons, who need to be guided back on the Buddhist path. Representations of demons also assist in the meditation on one’s own inner demons that need subduing. The meditator seeks to become like the deity and subdue these inner demons. What are the steps involved in traditional Tibetan tangka painting? This thangka and the others in this packet are painted in the traditional style where the proportions of the figures, their poses, attributes, and colors are strictly governed by the rules and customs given in Buddhist texts. It is in the subtleties of the images, their expressions and details, and in the backgrounds of paintings (landscape and flowers, etc.) that artists need to use more original expression. Paintings were often done by a workshop of artists. The master drawing and final gold work and outlining is done by the artist and the apprentices fill in the colors and supply repetitive details such as stitching in the robes and leaves on the trees. First, fine cotton or linen cloth is stretched over a wood frame. Several backing coats of a chalk-like substance mixed with glue are applied to the cloth and polished down so it is smooth. Grid lines are drawn to ensure the design aligns with correct proportions established in Buddhist texts. The design is then drawn on the grid. After tracing the design, the colors are applied. These are primarily blue, white, yellow, and red (See Appendix 2 for some of the symbolism of these colors). These main colors are mixed to achieve all the colors needed by the artist. Colors were created by grinding precious stones of the color desired. Shading is done next. Gold is often added to show respect for the deities in the painting. The final, and according to some, the most important step, is the eye opening ceremony. The eyes of the deity are painted in while prayers are recited. The three syllables om, ah, and hum, which symbolize body, speech, and mind respectively, are written onto the back of the tangka where the crown, throat, and heart of the figure is on the reverse. The painting is then mounted onto a backing and framed by a silk brocade border; the brocade was usually imported from India, where Moslem artisans dyed and wove the raw silk. The silk may have originated from China and Japan. (Cabezón and Tendar in Elchert, pp. 134-136). Sources José Ignaxio Cabezón and Geshe Thubten Tendar, “The Tangka According to Tradition,” in Carole Elchert, ed. White Lotus: An Introduction to Tibetan Culture (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990): pp. 133-138. Marylin M. Rie and Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991): 385-6. 39 Asian Art Museum
Page 1 and 2: Sacred Arts of Tibet Art from the R
Page 3 and 4: Background Reading Sacred Arts of T
Page 5 and 6: Sacred Arts of Tibet of mountain ra
Page 7 and 8: Sacred Arts of Tibet In the nomad
Page 9 and 10: RELIGIOUS PRACTICE IN TIBET Sacred
Page 11 and 12: Sacred Arts of Tibet beset by a var
Page 13 and 14: Tara and Green Tara (see Slide 2).
Page 15 and 16: Religious Rule: The “Second Trans
Page 17 and 18: Sacred Arts of Tibet of Tibetan nat
Page 19 and 20: Slide Descriptions Sacred Arts of T
Page 21 and 22: Who was Shakyamuni Buddha? Sacred A
Page 23 and 24: 2) Discussion Topic: To restore or
Page 25 and 26: What is a bodhisattva? Sacred Arts
Page 27 and 28: Who are the Green and White Taras?
Page 29 and 30: Slide 3 Sacred Arts of Tibet The Po
Page 31 and 32: Sources Sacred Arts of Tibet Gyatso
Page 33 and 34: Buddha Vajradhara (middle), the Ind
Page 35 and 36: Slide 5 Sacred Arts of Tibet This p
Page 37: Sacred Arts of Tibet Discussion Poi
Page 41 and 42: Sacred Arts of Tibet tors, derives
Page 43 and 44: Slide 8 Sacred Arts of Tibet Buddhi
Page 45 and 46: Sacred Arts of Tibet Top: The Tibet
Page 47 and 48: What is a lama? Sacred Arts of Tibe
Page 49 and 50: What is the symbolism of the Vajra
Page 51 and 52: Slide 11 Sacred Arts of Tibet Praye
Page 53 and 54: Slide 12 Sacred Arts of Tibet Novic
Page 55 and 56: Slide 13 Sacred Arts of Tibet Torga
Page 57 and 58: Slide 14 Sacred Arts of Tibet Palde
Page 59 and 60: Slide 15 Sacred Arts of Tibet Saman
Page 61 and 62: Slide 16 Sacred Arts of Tibet Human
Page 63 and 64: Slide 17 Sacred Arts of Tibet Mahak
Page 65 and 66: Slide 18 Sacred Arts of Tibet Lion-
Page 67 and 68: Slide 19 Sacred Arts of Tibet Praye
Page 69 and 70: Slide 20 Sacred Arts of Tibet Bön
Page 71 and 72: Reading 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet The
Page 73 and 74: Reading 2 Sacred Arts of Tibet Visi
Page 75 and 76: Sacred Arts of Tibet The outside of
Page 77 and 78: Sacred Arts of Tibet 5. The most co
Page 79 and 80: Reading 6 Sacred Arts of Tibet The
Page 81 and 82: Sacred Arts of Tibet provisions of
Page 83 and 84: Activity 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet Dec
Page 85 and 86: Bibliography Sacred Arts of Tibet B
Page 87 and 88: Sacred Arts of Tibet Reynolds, Valr
Page 89 and 90:
Appendix 1 Sacred Arts of Tibet Pos
show all

Sacred Arts of Tibet (.pdf) - Asian Art Museum | Education

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?