In the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, it is common to take up a certain chosen
Deity, or Yidam, as the primary center of one's practice. As central objects on
a shrine, therefore, paintings of the Yidam are often displayed. The
practitioner will use this painting to remember details of the visualization or
attributes of his or her chosen deity.
A practitioner may also perform special
practices for holidays at certain cycles of the sun and moon. These might
involve invoking forces of prosperity, long life, health, safety, or some other
good purpose. Images of the gods connected to such objectives might be found in
Thangkas arrayed in a large temple. The household practitioner might have such
deities painted onto the Thangka for his shrine.
In many cases, an individual's
most revered Gurus of the lineage, his Yidam, and the gods that represent his
interests are all painted on an individual Thangka. It is important to
determine whether the Thangka is intended to show only one section of the
Mandala, such as the main deity, or is a representation of every aspect of the
practitioner's practice.
A very common theme is to portray the original source
of the Thangka's inspiration at the top center; portray the mediators of the
transmission from the extra-worldly to the current situation, portray the
prominent Gurus of the tradition where appropriate, portray the guardians of the
image transmitted, portray the main deity connected to a certain practice or
transmission along with his/her/their retinue, and portray the supporters of this
vision in the divine and human realms. Offerings are often painted at the foot
of the deity, and patrons often appear as humans in the paintings, keeping in
the minds of the mediators the importance of patronage.
The transmission of the Vajrayana is considered, by its followers, to be
secret. Those Thangkas that depict deities and their mandalas are intended to
be used by an initiated practitioner in his or her practice. Information
regarding the "meanings" behind specific symbols, such as the reason some
deities wear 51 skulls around their necks—to demonstrate they have brought an
end to the 51 possible states of mind, are to be found in the literature of the
tradition.
Some deities have a crown of five skulls to demonstrate that they
have gained the five kinds of wisdom by burning out the five emotions. The five
wisdoms are the Wisdom of How Things Are, the Wisdom that is Like a Mirror, the
Wisdom that Does not Move, the Wisdom that Differentiates, the Wisdom that Gets
Things Done. The five emotional problems are ignorance, attachment, aversion,
pride, and jealousy. There are usually elaborate explanations behind each and
every aspect of a deity's appearance. Only generalities are available to the
uninitiated.
The general truths that the images express is, however, clear to
the eye. One can appreciate the art of Tantric Buddhism without having the full
training of the initiate, while the store of public knowledge on the symbolism
of the art grows. The viewer of the Thangka is, at last, the recipient of the
transmission. The acquisition of the initiation related to the practice
portrayed should be pursued under the guidance of a teacher familiar with that
practice.
As the various lineages of the transmission of certain branches of esoterica
defined themselves in history, separate "schools" of Tibetan Buddhism came into
existence. It is often the case that the Gurus depicted in a Thangka are not
only Indian masters and Mahasiddhas, but also Tibetan Lamas. When they are
portrayed as the central figure in a painting, such Lamas are given divine
status, as per the practice of Guruyoga. Followers of a particular "school" of
Buddhism might therefore keep paintings of all major teachers in their
tradition. These lineages of teachers would also appear at the tops of Thangkas
devoted to a particular practice, thus reminding the meditator of the exact branch
in the river of Enlightenment in which he sat.
There are currently four main "schools" of Tibetan Buddhism,
or five if we include the Bon tradition, which
claims to represent the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. In each of these
traditions certain esoteric studies were emphasized above others, and certain
deities became more or less associated with certain schools. It is not uncommon,
however, for a single deity to be practiced by followers of all schools, or that
a deity may be thought of as the special province of only one or two schools.
It is by recognition of the Gurus of the lineage displayed on the Thangka that
an understanding of the Thangka's representation of sectarian interests may be
found. Many Thangkas declare no sectarian interest, showing only the
transmission from the deity to the viewer of the Thangka. Every Thangka offers
a window into a vision of reality much different than the world we see every
day, and offers itself as a vision of a world that we, the viewers, might like
to be in.
In this way the Transmission of Enlightenment began with the Buddha Shakyamuni
two thousand five hundred years ago. While undergoing transformations through
history, this has now been presented to your eye. You have looked at the images of the
founders, the lineage holders, the deities, the supporters. And so this vision
of the transmission of Enlightenment is now yours, to pass on as you please.
