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Refuge Tree
(painting no. 522)
| Collection: |
Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation |
| Size: |
69x53cm (27.5x21in) |
| Paint: |
Ground Mineral Pigment |
| Painting School: |
Provincial |
| Lineage: |
Nyingma, Rime (Non-sectarian), Karma (Kagyu) |
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This is a Refuge Tree, a depiction of the objects of refuge as a tree, with the Guru at the center, the Buddhas at the left, the Dharma Volumes at the top, and the Sangha in the form of Bodhisattvas on the right. The center figure, representing the Guru, shows Samantabhadra as the Dharmakaya, Amitabha as the Sambhogakaya, and Avalokitesvara as the Nirmanakaya. At the upper left the Mandala of Five Buddhas is portrayed, while along the right side the lineage of Gurus from the primordial Buddha to the living transmittor of the tradition are shown. A student involved in the Taking of Refuge, as a spiritual practice, might use a Thangka such as this one to concentrate on all the aspects of the objects of refuge, and to focus attention on them in the course of reciting the refuge formula "I take refuge in the Guru; I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha." That the protectors are found at the roots of the tree indicates the basic protective ability, at root level, of these objects of refuge.
C. Jeffries 1/98
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Photographed Image Copyright © 1998 Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
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