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84-496: While the concept of Refuge Trees appears in liturgical texts at least as early as the 16th century, based on known examples Refuge Tree paintings appear to have only become popular from the 18th century making them a late development in the history of Tibetan art . Refuge Tree or Refuge Field paintings depict the important objects of " Refuge " for each sect or lineage in the form of a genealogical chart. Each lineage has its own distinctive form of composition but they usually include

168-538: A Tibetan style and with Tibetan Buddhist iconography produced in either China or Tibet, often arising from patronage by Chinese emperors. The artists seem to have been a mixture of Tibetan and Chinese, with some Newari from Nepal, and the place of manufacture is often uncertain between the two. The less common term of Tibeto-Chinese may be used when the Tibetan element is the stronger. Tibetan religious art has been described as "almost unbelievably conservative", to

252-470: A cloak. But it seems to have become a prestigious thing to sit on for all types of person. Tibetan clothing for the wealthy was elaborate and very brightly coloured. Chinese silks were much used, and imitated locally. Otherwise women wore skirts of local hand-woven cloth with lines of different colours. The clothing of the poor in 19th-century photographs generally appears very ragged, at least for working men. Tibetan jewellery, worn in profusion by both sexes,

336-677: A court religion for some time after, and whether any Tibetan art survives is uncertain. Songsten Gampo was the first of the "Three Religious Kings" (or "Dharma Kings"), followed by Trisong Detsen and Tri Relwajen , who reigned until about 836 (there are, or may have been, several intervening kings). King Trisong Detsen invited the Indian monk Śāntarakṣita , of Nalanda , who arrived in 761, but whose efforts were, according to Tibetan tradition, frustrated by evil native spirits. After retreating, and spending some years in Nepal, Śāntarakṣita returned with

420-531: A detailed landscape drawing on Chinese styles. Another style has a main central figure with much smaller portraits around the edge of the composition, either in compartments or in later examples in a landscape setting. These may be divine figures, or monks who were mentors or pupils. Other portraits of monks are simpler, concentrating on the main figures. Some may date to the lifetime of the subject, though other are of figures long dead. It has been argued that portraits of living and dead figures are distinguished by

504-634: A drawn pattern on a flat and even ground surface with great skill, using cone-shaped funnels called chak-pur and fingers. The mandala is generally square or round, and can be between two and three metres across. Making the mandala is itself a religious act, and the image's temporary nature is part of the teaching. Many are made for festivals, and after a few days on display they are simply swept away. The same patterns are often used in painted thangkas, with or without figures, which are generally not attempted in sand. Torma are sculpted ritual offerings made of edible materials, with yak butter and flour

588-759: A four-petalled lotus upon a wish-fulfilling tree, in the centre of which is the Root Lama as Vajradhara with the Lineage Lamas in front; on the front petal are Yidams of the four Tantras; on the left petal are the Buddhas; on the petal behind are the Buddhist scriptures; on right petal are the Bodhisattvas; and surrounding are countless other forms of "Refuge" filling the sky. Tibetan art The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before

672-559: A historical person in India who authored various Yogācāra texts known as the Maitreya corpus. The traditions themselves have held that it is referring to the bodhisattva Maitreya , the future buddha . Scholars are divided in opinion whether the name refers to a historical human teacher of Asaṅga or to the bodhisattva Maitreya. Frauwallner, Tucci and Ui proposed this as a possibility, while Eric Obermiller and Fyodor Shcherbatskoy doubted

756-762: A large extent representing "the perpetuation of the forms and iconography of the last phase of Buddhist art of India", ending about the 12th century. This was the Pala -Sena art of north-east India, relatively close to Tibet, and the home of key figures like Atisha , a missionary from Nalanda in Bihar . After the decline of Buddhism in India soon after, very little survives from the Indian Buddhist art of this or earlier periods except monumental sculpture, and art historians must deduce much about this vanished culture from Tibetan works. Other influences on Tibetan art over

840-648: A number of different "aspects", which may be depicted very differently. Sometimes these are shown in compartments around the edge of the composition. They are often depicted standing on much smaller figures personifying the malign forces they have overcome, and the skulls or heads of others may hang from their belt or neck as a mundamala or skull garland. There may also be skulls in their crown. The foundation story of Tibetan Buddhism has much on early leaders, above all Padmasambhava , subduing evil spirits that previously dominated Tibet. The Dharmapala are one class of these fierce protectors, and one of them, Mahakala ,

924-462: A number of monastic orders or schools emerged, the four major schools, with their approximate dates of foundation, being the Nyingma (c. 8th century), Kagyu (11th century), Sakya (1073), and Gelug (1409). These came to produce art with slight differences in both subject-matter and style. The situation transformed dramatically in the second half of the 13th century, as the protracted process of

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1008-526: A part in funerary rituals. Some include ashes from the cremated remains of a deceased person, or objects symbolizing them. Others, like their Indian predecessors, work as souvenirs of pilgrimages, and are taken home to be displayed. There are types of Buddhist art that are deliberately temporary, for use in rituals and meditation. The best known of these is the sand mandala , a largely geometric image made up with grains of sand or minerals, where necessary dyed to give several bright colours. These are placed onto

1092-540: A pipal or Bodhi Tree , and passing away from his coarse material body under two sal trees ". The configuration of the earliest known Refuge Tree paintings appear to be based on the 17th century Lama Chopa text by the 1st Panchen Lama, Khedrup Gelek Pelzang of the Gelug Tradition. In this text, he described the Field of Accumulation in a configuration on the peak of a tree with Shakyamuni Buddha representing

1176-655: A senior lama, perhaps the subject. Another subject for thangkas is the various heavens or Pure lands of the main buddhas, especially Amitābha 's Sukhavati , and the mystic earthly kingdom of Shambhala . In recent centuries, these have also been given panoramic landscape backgrounds. There are also paintings showing monasteries, usually concentrating on the buildings rather than the (often spectacular) settings. The Ashtamangala , or "Eight Auspicious Symbols" very frequently appear in various contexts, for example held by figures. They belong to wider Buddhist traditions, and originated in India. As Mahayana Buddhism emerged as

1260-510: A separate school in the 4th century AD, it emphasized the role of bodhisattvas , compassionate beings who forgo their personal escape to nirvana in order to assist others. From an early time, various bodhisattvas were also subjects of statuary art. Tibetan Buddhism, as an offspring of Mahayana Buddhism, inherited this tradition. But the additional dominating presence of the Vajrayana (or Buddhist tantra) may have had an overriding importance in

1344-603: A set of small useful tools such as spoons, picks and knives hang by short chains. The chuckmuck , not exclusive to Tibet, is a fire-lighting kit, typically hung from the belt by a short strap. Thokcha are small amulets of various shapes made (or supposed to be made) from meteoric iron , which were in use well before Buddhism arrived. Furniture, in recent centuries tending to loosely follow Chinese forms, can be very finely made, and are usually highly decorated. Caskets, boxes and covers for manuscripts and storage chests were also important. Tibetan horse trappings, arms and armour for

1428-525: A small group of initiates. The indigenous shamanistic religion of the Himalayas is known as Bön , which has survived in a monastic form, co-existing with Tibetan Buddhism, and producing similar art. Bon contributes a pantheon of local tutelary deities to Tibetan art. In Tibetan temples (known as lhakhang ), statues of the Buddha or Padmasambhava are often paired with statues of the tutelary deity of

1512-632: A wide range of persons or qualities. Buddhist symbols often appear. The main figures are buddhas, bodisattvas , the various types of "deity" in Tibetan Buddhism, and sometimes distinguished monks of the past, who may be regarded as bodhisattvas. Very often the figures at the top represent the "lineage" of teachings relating to the main figure, including a mixture of semi-legendary early and foundational figures, and more recent monks. Large numbers of these are yidams or meditation deities. The appearance of these and their surrounding elements

1596-526: Is Hanshan Deqing during the Ming dynasty . In his autobiography, Hanshan describes the palace of Maitreya in Tuṣita, and hearing a lecture given by Bodhisattva Maitreya to a large group of his disciples. The number of works attributed to him vary in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism . In the Tibetan tradition the "five Dharmas of Maitreya" are: The Chinese tradition meanwhile maintains that

1680-474: Is gouache on fine cotton , but other cloth may be used. Painting was over an underdrawing . Colours were originally bright, though many old paintings have faded. Most, and all before the 16th century, are square or have a vertical "portrait" format, and most are under a metre tall. There are also images in silk tapestry using the Chinese kesi technique. The earliest thangka to survive are some from

1764-530: Is mainly used for small steles carved in relief, or rock reliefs carved into cliffs beside paths, which were then painted. Large sculptures, almost all sacred figures in a meditating or teaching seated position, are mostly for the altars of temples or prayer halls. The Tibetan prototype for these is the Jowo , a bronze statue of the Buddha in Lhasa, supposedly brought from China by a Tang dynasty princess marrying

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1848-400: Is set out in great detail in texts, which the thangkas follow closely, and monks are required to memorize and meditate on these for very long periods. In many cases it is eventually explained to the initiate that the deity has no existence outside the mind of persons meditating on them, and the purpose of the exercise is to realize within the meditator the qualities the deity embodies, as part of

1932-409: Is the thangka , a broad term for portable paintings on cloth or paper that can be stored rolled-up. Larger ones may also be called "banners", and the really large ones for display on thangka walls at festivals are mostly made from appliqué cloth, with only minimal painting. Even relatively small thangkas which are much taller than they are wide may be called banners. The usual painting technique

2016-680: The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra , the Mahāyāna-sūtra-alaṃkāra-śāstra , the Madhyānta-vibhāga-śāstra , etc.; in the daytime, he lectured on the marvelous principles to a great audience. Confusion over the idea of "supernaturally" visiting heavens may be due to the unfamiliarity of scholars with the Indian concept of heavens as being accessible through samādhi . Other advanced meditators recorded similar experiences of visiting Tuṣita Heaven at night. One such example of this

2100-433: The phurba or ritual dagger, are finely made and lavishly decorated. Secular objects, in particular jewellery and textiles, were also made, with Chinese influences strong in the latter. Himalayan art is an overall term for Tibetan art together with the art of Bhutan , Nepal , Ladakh , Kashmir and neighbouring parts of Mongolia and China where Tibetan Buddhism is practiced. Sino-Tibetan art refers to works in

2184-649: The vajra , the diamond thunderbolt (known in Tibetan as the dorje ). Most of the typical Tibetan Buddhist art can be seen as part of the practice of tantra. Vajrayana techniques incorporate many visualizations during meditation, and most of the elaborate tantric art can be seen as aids to these visualizations; from representations of meditational deities ( yidams ) to mandalas and all kinds of ritual implements. There are distinct tantric rituals, mostly originating in India, but some apparently incorporating elements from Tibetan shamanism . These are conducted alone or before

2268-648: The Guge Kingdom in Western Tibet, who succeeded in getting the senior Indian monk Atisha to come to Tibet in 1042. Spreading over the next decades from Western to Eastern Tibet, Atisha and successors such as Dromtön and Marpa Lotsawa established many monasteries, and new orders of monks. At this period Indian Buddhism was still a force in north-east India, though in decline, with large monastic complexes such as Nalanda in Bengal and modern Bihar , to

2352-620: The Hermitage Museum with an inscribed date to the Ming Yongle reign of 1403–1425 is made of copper and about 40% gold, but this is a rarity. Tibet has deposits of gold, but under the influence of Bon, mining was regarded as rather immoral, and only the meagre product of panning in rivers was acceptable. Large inflows of gold came from China only after the Mongol Yuan dynasty began to heavily patronize Tibetan Buddhism in

2436-563: The Mongol conquest of China (1215–1294) drew to a close. Tibetan Buddhism had made considerable inroads in Mongolia, and became the official state religion of the new Mongol Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan , though other religions were (most of the time) tolerated and sometimes patronized. Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235–1280), leader of the Sakya order, was made Imperial Preceptor and head of

2520-573: The Mongolian Zanabazar (1635–1715). There have recently been rather controversial attempts to attribute some surviving works to a well-documented and significant Nepali artist called Aniko or Anige (1245–1306), who worked in painting, sculpture and architecture in Tibet and China, but it remains uncertain if anything by him, rather than his sons or followers, has survived. Paintings come in several types and sizes. The most important

2604-480: The Nechung or "Official State Oracle" have extremely elaborate costumes and other special ritual implements for giving their predictions. The costumes include much carved bone, as do some of those for performers in the cham dances and adepts in some tantric rituals. Apart from necklaces and other jewellery forms, there are "aprons" with bone plaques large enough to hold complex relief carvings. Woodblock printing

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2688-403: The blocked-up cave near Dunhuang that date from a period of Tibetan occupation there in the 10th century. Tsakli or "initiation cards" are small painted (or sometimes printed) images on cloth, glued to a card backing, usually showing a relatively simple image of a sacred figure, or a pair. They were produced in sets of perhaps six to over a hundred, and used for instructing monks and also

2772-700: The swastika rather than the vajra as a symbol of wisdom, and although their chorten (stupas) are "almost identical", Bon devotees walk round them in the opposite direction (anti-clockwise) to Buddhists. Pre-Buddhist art in Tibet is relatively little understood, apart from small personal items such as thokcha amulets, and prehistoric rock carvings of animals. All are hard to date. Stylistically, Buddhist art tends to be divided, at some periods more than others, into that from Western, Central and Eastern Tibet. Buddhism achieved its final very strong position in Tibet in several stages , with reverses sometimes following periods of strong growth. The first arrival of Buddhism

2856-486: The transmission lineage of the particular sect or tradition. As David P. Jackson & Janice Jackson stated in Tibetan Thangka Painting , "For the religious practitioner these paintings embodied the whole lineage through which the tradition descended, from its ultimate origin down to the practitioner's own teacher". The Jacksons go on to explain that the practitioner imagines the main central figure of

2940-464: The " Three Jewels " (Sanskrit: triratna ): Buddha , Dharma and Sangha , the "Refuges" common to all major schools of Buddhism . They may also include what is known in the Nyingma and Kagyu sects as the " Three Roots " (Tibetan: tsa sum ) which include the numerous important Lamas and Lineage Holders, particular meditational deities (Tibetan: Yidam ), the Dakinis (Tibetan: Khadroma ) or

3024-466: The Buddhist practices of refuge and deity yoga . Tibetan art is especially rich, compared to that of other Buddhist countries, in depictions of "fierce" figures, sometimes called a figure's " wrathful aspect " or "expression". These are to be understood as protective figures, versions of buddhas or bodhisattvas that can also be shown in their pacific aspect. Indeed, thanks to the very complex Tibetan understanding of their nature, important figures have

3108-611: The Dharmapalas surrounded by their helpers. The earliest known paintings of Nyingma Refuge Trees appear to be from the 19th century and are based on the description from the Longchen Nyingtig preliminary practices as explained in The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche . While other structures have since developed, Nyingma Refuge Trees compositions generally consist of a five branch structure. In summary

3192-621: The Kagyu Lamas. On the other four main branches that radiate towards the four cardinal directions are: the Yidams on the front branch; to the left are the Buddhas of past, present and future and the ten directions; on the rear branch are their teachings represented by a stack of sacred scriptures or pechas ; to the right is the Sangha represented by Bodhisattvas and monks; beneath the Lamas are all

3276-461: The Maitreya. Heavens such as Tuṣita are said to be accessible through meditation . Xuanzang tells the account of these events: In the great mango grove five or six li to the southwest of the city ( Ayodhyā ), there is an old monastery where Asaṅga Bodhisattva received instructions and guided the common people. At night he went up to the place of Maitreya Bodhisattva in Tuṣita Heaven to learn

3360-514: The Protectors of the Lineage (Sanskrit: Dharmapāla , Tibetan: Chokyong ). Many other figures such as Buddhist practitioners, animals, offering goddesses and other Buddhist symbols and imagery are also often included. A Refuge Tree painting may contain over a hundred figures, or only the key representative figures of each main grouping. A key function of a Refuge Tree painting is to depict

3444-565: The Protectors of the Lineage. Based on known examples, it appears that Sakya Refuge Tree paintings are a 20th-century concept as few examples exist pre 1956. The Sakya sect does not appear to have a standard composition for depicting the contents of their "Refuge". However, the 20th century text The Excellent Path of the Two Accumulations by Dezhung Rinpoche contains a description of the Sakya Refuge. In summary it describes:

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3528-514: The Refuge Tree (the identity of which depends on the particular tradition) as the essence of one's main teacher or Root Lama. The structures of the compositions symbolize the interconnectedness of the various figures and groupings. The figures of "Refuge" are depicted within the form of a tree diagram usually supported by three main structures: the branches of a stylised tree, a palace, or lotus flower and lion throne . The support depends on

3612-535: The Refuge Tree composition also includes three separate assemblies of teachers above the main figure. In this case, according to Jackson and Jackson: the teaching lineage of the tantric empowerments and practices constitute[s] the central group. On the main figure's right there [is] the "Lineage of the Vast Conduct", the lineage of the Yogacara Mahayana descending from Maitreyanatha and Asanga . On

3696-534: The Root Lama as the main figure. Later Gelug paintings also feature the founder of the Gelug sect, Je Tsongkapa as the central figure. In both cases, as Jackson and Jackson describe, the central figure is at the pinnacle of the tree "surrounded by descending concentric rows of exalted beings". These rows consist of eight classes of beings: Gurus , Yidams, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas , Sravakas and Sthaviras, Dakas, and Dharmapalas. A popular Gelug structure of

3780-483: The Tantric adept Padmasambhava, who successfully defeated the evil spirits. In 791 Buddhism was declared the official religion, and King Trisong Detsen eventually felt he had to make a choice between the Indian and Chinese styles of Buddhism. After hearing both groups of monks making their case, he chose the Indian ones, perhaps for political reasons, and thereafter Sanskrit texts have always been regarded in Tibet as

3864-414: The Tibetan king. Most later Tibetan examples are made of clay or rammed earth over a hollow interior stuffed with straw, with wood supports for the largest. They are then painted and partly gilded, and often finished with varnish . Tsa-tsa are small relief plaques or miniature chortens made in moulds with clay or rammed earth. Many are left in places considered holy, and the chorten-shaped ones play

3948-489: The artistic culture. A common bodhisattva depicted in Tibetan art is the deity Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara), often portrayed as a thousand-armed saint with an eye in the middle of each hand, representing the all-seeing compassionate one who hears our requests. This deity can also be understood as a yidam , or 'meditation Buddha' for Vajrayana practice. More specifically, Tibetan Buddhism contains Tantric Buddhism , also known as Vajrayana Buddhism for its common symbolism of

4032-736: The centuries came from Chinese and Nepalese Buddhist art. Landscape backgrounds were adopted from Chinese painting from about the 14th century for some thanka, and Chinese ornamental styles became dominant around 1700. The finest achievements are typically considered to be in painted thanka and small bronzes (often gilt-bronze ), where the best works have very high levels of technical skill. These were generally private works, only seen within monasteries, and often specifically designed for meditation. More public art includes large statues for prayer halls, large appliqué thankas for temporary display during Tibetan festivals on thangka walls , and sand mandalas , also temporary. Painters and at least

4116-473: The composition of Asanga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha (which quotes the Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra as an authoritative text). The Buddhist traditions themselves have always held that Asaṅga received the "Maitreya" texts from the bodhisattva Maitreya directly. Asaṅga is said to have spent many years in intense meditation, during which time tradition says that he often visited Tuṣita to receive teachings from

4200-411: The dead being shown seated on a lotus throne , but a recent study rejects this and instead argues that the side on which the tögag monastic robe is folded under the arm may indicate this. Small bronze sculpted portraits are also mostly straightforward, showing the subject seated on a base, not always wearing their ceremonial hat. One such bronze has an inscription saying it was made for the bedroom of

4284-404: The distinct Bon deities and historic teachers, but remain generally close to Buddhist styles; there was evidently considerable interchange between artists in both traditions. In general, Bon sacred figures do not appear in the complicated different forms and aspects of Buddhist ones, and a Bon fierce protective deity is likely only to have that form. Some differences are easier to see: Bon art uses

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4368-509: The district who often appears angry or dark. These gods once inflicted harm and sickness on the local citizens but after the arrival of Padmasambhava these negative forces have been subdued and now must serve Buddha. Bon images are often extremely similar to Tibetan Buddhist ones, especially those produced by the Nyingma order, which has the closest connections with Bon monasticism. Indeed, even experts are sometimes unable to be sure for which religion some works were produced. Other works depict

4452-486: The elite were often highly decorated; a reasonable number have survived because there was relatively little evolution in what was used for fighting until the 20th century, and also because items were given as votive offerings to monasteries. A high proportion of both thangkas and sculptures have as their main subject a single sacred figure, or two of them embracing in the yab-yum position. These are very often surrounded with other figures, much smaller, often representing

4536-538: The historicity of this figure. Modern scholars argue that many of the various texts traditionally attributed to Maitreya (and supposedly revealed to Asanga ) like the Abhisamayalankara and the Ratnagotravibhaga are actually later post-Asanga texts. However, some scholars like Gareth Sparham use the name Maitreya to refer to the author of "three Maitreya texts", all which seem to be by

4620-591: The hollow statues, wrapped in paper with writing identifying them. Many of the common materials for sculpture are not often used in Tibet. Wood was expensive, and generally used for buildings, furniture and caskets rather than sculpture (the wood reliefs at the Jokhang in Lhasa are by Nepali sculptors brought in for the purpose). Wood doorway surrounds in monasteries sometimes had figurative carvings. But small works in wood, ivory, terracotta and stone are found. Stone

4704-559: The instruments are shared with the Hindu tantra tradition. Most are usually in bronze, and the most important are the vajra (or dorje ), a small ritual weapon that is normally accompanied by a small bell, the phurba dagger, kartika flaying knife, the khatvanga staff or wand, and the kapala , a skull cup , using a real skull, but often with an elaborate metalwork setting. The kangling thigh-bone trumpet, also mainly real bone, may also have metal mounts. Oracles such as

4788-734: The largest beneficiaries, but all orders benefited. The Yuan emperors maintained large imperial workshops, whose main task was producing Buddhist images and designs for them. About half of the senior artists were Newari or Tibetan, with the rest Chinese. Drawings of the design were typically approved by members of the court and the Imperial Preceptor, who checked the details of the iconography were correct. Often old pieces were copied, and creatively reinterpreted. The Yuan empresses were especially fond of silver statues of female deities, most of which were melted down at some later point, as few of them survive. The records show that in 1329,

4872-501: The late 13th century. Metal sculptures sometimes have colour added by a variety of techniques including inlays, partial gilding, lacquer paint, coloured wax, and using alloys with different metal mixtures, especially zinc to give different colours. Jewels may be inserted into the metal. The usual basic casting technique is lost wax casting ; many works, especially in later periods, are cast in several pieces, then joined. Small relics of distinguished teachers were often placed inside

4956-496: The lineage and the liturgical text the painting is based on. When the support is a tree, it is often referred to as a "wish-fulfilling tree" (Wylie: dpag bsam gyi shing ). In A Shrine for Tibet , Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman assert that the depiction of the Refuge Assembly in the form of a tree "developed from the ancient tradition of the Buddha being born under an ashoka tree , attaining enlightenment under

5040-521: The mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka , paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper , Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings , and small statues in bronze, or large ones in clay, stucco or wood. They were commissioned by religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by monks and lay artists, who are mostly unknown. Various types of religious objects, such as

5124-495: The modellers of sculpture were mostly monks, but less so for those made in China, or by the many Nepali artists who worked in or for Tibet. Many applied arts were made by lay craftspeople, sometimes working to designs for ornament supplied by monks. Apart from works from recent decades the names of the artists involved are unknown, except in the case of a few leading artist monks, such as Chöying Dorje, 10th Karmapa (1604–1674), and

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5208-459: The monasteries of Tabo and Alchi in modern Ladakh in India, relatively small establishments in Guge which largely escaped later rebuilding and repainting, and Chinese destruction. The dominant type of monastic Buddhism in north-west India at the time was Vajrayana (or Tantric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism), and various sub-schools of this tradition became the norm in Tibet. Over the next century

5292-529: The monks were established—a reform in 1331 reduced the number from 216 to 200 annually. Each of these might last several days, a "short" one taking a hundred monks for seven days, while a long one used forty monks for three years. These were lavishly rewarded: one seven day ritual was paid for with 600 kilos of silver. Large donations were used for building monasteries in Tibet, or commissioning art, but donations were also given to large numbers of individual monks, who might use them to make art. The Sakya order were

5376-460: The most common and often the only main ingredients, along with colourings. They are therefore a form of butter sculpture . Eggs, milk and other ingredients even including meat may be used. They are used in various contexts, the most common of which is being placed on altars. Very large ones may be made for special festivals. Some are eaten after a period of ritual use. Many types of object for both religious or secular use were lavishly decorated in

5460-464: The new Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs . Over the next century monastic Buddhism received "massive financial and material support by the Yuan state (1260-1368), most prominently in the form of several tons of gold and silver, and hundreds of thousands of bolts of silk". Tibetan monasteries were established in China, mostly staffed by monks from Tibet. A large number of imperial ceremonies using

5544-706: The other side [is] the "Lineage of the Profound View", the Madhyamaka tradition coming down through Manjusri and Nagarjuna . The Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism developed another form of tree structure for their objects of "Refuge". The Karma Kagyu Refuge Field was described in the form of a five-branched tree by 9th Karmapa, Wangchug Dorje in his 16th-century texts Lhancig Kyejor Tri (Wylie: lhan cig skyes sbyor khrid ) and Paglam Dropa’I Shingta (Wylie: ‘phags lam bgrod pa’I shing rta ). Based on known examples of Karma Kagyu Refuge Trees, it appears that

5628-760: The proper foundation for Buddhism. By this time some large monasteries had been built, and the Tibetan Empire had begun to encroach on China's western borders; the Tibetan paintings found in Dunhuang are one major group of survivals. This period of expansion was soon followed by the Era of Fragmentation after 842, which saw the end of the unified kingdom, and much tension between Bon and Buddhism, which declined severely, especially in Central Tibet. The "Later" or "Second Transmission" began under King Yeshe-Ö of

5712-497: The same author. This Maitreya Corpus comprises the following texts: Paul Williams writes that "it is quite possible that these other three [texts] do have a single author" and cites Frauwallner who also thought these three texts were similar. Mario D'amato who also agrees that these texts likely share one author, dates these three "Maitreya" texts to a phase after the completion of the Bodhisattvabhumi , but before

5796-639: The same styles, mixing metalwork with gemstones. These include vases, offering plates and model mountain "mandala plates", containers and other objects for altars, rituals, and the private use of senior monks, as well as use by wealthy lay persons. In recent centuries China was the main influence on the rich ornamentation used, with Nepal and India prominent earlier. Tibetan Buddhism has a number of distinctive ritual instruments, some for use on general altars, and others for special tantric rituals; some are used in both. There are also musical instruments used in religious ceremonies, but these are not covered here. Many of

5880-476: The same technique as thangkas. They usually cover the entire wall above a certain level, using much the same subjects and styles as thangkas. Paintings and other works were ritually consecrated upon completion. Book covers more often included painted decoration than the pages of the book. This is usually on the inside of the wood cover, so the painting is protected. Initially books had the very long, thin, shape of Indian palm leaf manuscripts whatever material

5964-429: The south of the region around Lhasa. There were considerable monastic interchanges between the two regions, with texts being taken north for copying and translating, and also evidently movement of artworks and probably artists. A greater number of Tibetan works have survived, many showing accomplished styles, with considerable Indian influence. Apart from portable works, the two outstanding survivals in wall paintings are

6048-438: The temporary consecration and protection of sites or objects. The figure may be identified in ink on the back. They are one of a number of Tibetan forms without close comparators in neighbouring Buddhist countries. Most monasteries and temples in Tibet had wall paintings , a large percentage of which have been destroyed or badly damaged. These were painted over several plaster-like layers of "clay, chopped-up straw, and dung" in

6132-547: The text describes the following: Vajradhara of Oddiyana is in union with the white dakini Yeshe Tsogyal in the centre; the Lineage Lamas are above; on the branch in front are the Buddhas of past, present and future and the ten directions; on the right are the Eight Great Bodhisattvas ; on the left branch are the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas; on the branch at the rear are the teachings; and beneath are

6216-412: The type of composition became popular in the sect only after Jamgon Kongtrul wrote the 19th century text, Ngedon Dronme (Wylie: nges don sgron me , English: The Torch of Certainty ) a commentary on the 9th Karmapa's texts. In summary, these texts describe the following: A golden tree trunk grows out of a beautiful lake. In the centre is Vajradhara (Tibetan: Dorje Chang ) as Root Lama surrounded by

6300-505: The usual range of secular forms. Monasteries also contained secular art in such forms as woolen Tibetan rugs . The usual form of these before 1950 is the khaden or sleeping carpet, also used for sitting or meditating on, with either geometric of simple figural designs, the latter often versions of Chinese motifs. The imitation tiger-skin "tiger rug" at least began as a substitute for real tiger-skins, which Buddhist and Hindu tantric masters are often shown sitting on in Indian art, or wearing as

6384-496: The various events shown around a much larger central figure. The life of Gautama Buddha is depicted, as well as his previous lives, but the other most important buddhas and bodisattvas generally lack biographies. Tibetan figures such as Padmasambhava , Milarepa , and famous monks such as Sakya Pandita , and the Third Dalai Lama may be treated in a similar style. From the 18th century these scenes may be placed in

6468-613: The world, being very often brass and sometimes almost pure copper . The compositions sometimes vary considerably from one end of a statue to the other. Tibetan foundries seem to have used whatever base metal was available, and not to have been too careful in ensuring proper mixing. Pieces made in China or Mongolia are generally much more homogenous. Precious metals may be used, especially for Imperial Chinese commissions, but figures mainly in gold or silver are very rare; evidently some were made, but they have presumably been recycled as bullion later on. A very high-quality yab-yum pair in

6552-640: The year after she became empress during a brief civil war , Budashiri , wife of the Wenzong Emperor , commissioned goddess figures that used a total of 2,220 kilos of silver. Maitreya-n%C4%81tha Maitreya-nātha (c. 270–350 CE) is a name whose use was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner , Giuseppe Tucci , and Hakuju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogācāra school of Buddhist philosophy , along with Asanga and Vasubandhu . Some scholars believe this Maitreya to be

6636-516: Was at various times given a particular role as the national protector, of Tibet and of the Mongol Empire . Tibetan Buddhism also arose and consolidated at the same time as Indian Buddhism declined, a process that is still rather unclear, but at times involved considerable violence, perhaps increasing the perceived need for powerful protective figures. Narrative depictions of the lives of religious figures are found in thangkas, usually with

6720-550: Was believed to increase the efficacy of the prayer or mantra . Designs including the Wind Horse are among the most popular. Usually, the design for the wooden block was drawn by a monk, but carving the block was done by lay craftspeople outside the monastery. Traditional Tibetan society had a relatively small but wealthy upper class, as well as prosperous merchants. These patronised the religious arts (most wealthy men had spent some of their youth in monastic training), but also

6804-415: Was chunky rather than highly refined, usually mainly in silver. Turquoise was one of the gemstones mined in Tibet, and much used. Elite Tibetan women wore their hair elaborately tied high over the head on formal occasions, hanging jewellery on it. Various personal items such as saddles and horse trappings could be highly decorated in similar techniques. The chab chab , worn by women, is a brooch from which

6888-466: Was traditionally with the two princesses, Nepali and Chinese, who came to marry King Songsten Gampo (reigned c. 627–649). Each came with monks and statues, and both Indian and Chinese styles of Buddhism (both Mahayana, but already somewhat divergent) were encouraged by the court. The core of the Jokhang in Lhasa survives from this period, and the Chinese Jowo statue, but Buddhism was essentially

6972-403: Was used for both text and images, or a combination. This was both on paper for books or single sheets, or on textiles, where it was very widely used for prayer flags . As with the prayer wheels outside religious buildings, usually made of brass with the prayer inscribed in relief , setting the text in motion, whether by the wind in the case of flags, or by hand turning in the case of the wheels,

7056-420: Was used, allowing only a long row of tsakli -like single figures. Later different shapes were used, allowing larger thangka-style compositions. [ [1] ] The most common material for smaller sculptures is metal, usually " bronze ", which is often gilded . Modern scientific analysis shows that the actual compositions of Tibetan "bronze" (or copper alloy ) are even more variable than in bronze from other parts of

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