Adi-Buddha Vajrasattva

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Vajrasattva is the visible symbol of cosmic consciousness in its absolute and incorruptible essence. He is the insubstantiality of things itself, the being who is of himself, Sayambhurupa. He is above the five Tathagatas because he is undifferentiated and, in the schools of annuttara yoga, the sixth Buddha, i.e. a moment of being preceding any evolution into the multiple: he is therefore identical with the sarvatathagata-kaya-vak-citta-vajra, the adamantine essence of the physical, verbal and spiritual plane of all the Tathagatas, he who neither beginning nor end. He is always represented with a bell and Vajra. These attributes, essential to every esoteric Buddhist liturgy, are symbols: the first of the emptiness of all things and of the awareness of such emptiness, the second of the meditative process, which translate into psychological experiences and spiritual realization that same awareness. So when Vajrasattva is represented embracing his consort, that same symbolism is expressed by human figures – god = vajra, consort = bell – that is, the synthesis of the two elements from which supreme enlightenment is derived: gnosis and compassion.

There is legend about the Vajra and bell attribute of Vajrasattva, "In a certain country a lama practiced austerities in solitude for many, many years, and by doing so he attracted the notice of all the inhabitants and even of the king, who, however, hated religion. Once the queen found herself in the pang of delayed parturition and all medical skill proved futile. The king, advised to call upon the saintly lama, sent his ministers to bring him to the court, but the lama refused to obey the royal summons. Even when the king designed to go in person in order to invite him, the hermit did not condescend to accede to his entreaties. Moved however, by the sufferings of the women, he delivered her from the pangs of parturition by his magical powers without even leaving his solitude. The king, anxious to see the holy man at his court, went to invite him once more, with no better result than before. Offended by the lama's stern refusal to go with him, he promised a large reward to any one who could induce the hermit to change his mind. Now a young girl – and this is a motif analogous to the famous Ekashringa legend – undertook to make an attempt. But although she displayed all her charms, the lama remained as adamant as a Vajra. At last she resorted to crying, telling the lama that she and her whole family would be exterminated if she failed to keep her promise. The lama, pitying her, said with a smile "come". He embraced her and in this posture they remained. A son and a daughter were born to them. Meanwhile the king waited, more and more impatiently, for the arrival of the holy sage. Finally he proceed in person, escorted by his courtiers, to the lonely wilderness, where the couple lived, and seeing what had happened, he sneered at the dissolute lama. But the lama retorted: "Foolish, what do you perceive with your fleshly eyes?" Then he took his two small children and hurled them into the ground. To the amazement of the onlookers the boy was transformed into Vajra the girl into a bell, symbolizing method and wisdom, the way and the goal, which cooperate in inseparable union, like the wings of a flying bird, in order to promote all things on their road to salvation. At last the king realized the meaning that the lama and the girl, yab and yum, Vajra and bell, method and wisdom, are but two different aspects of the same Mysterious."

On the top, Amitabha Buddha is seated, while upper left and right corners have beautifully rendered offering deities in smoky clouds.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

B. Bhattacharya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Calcutta, 1968

F.D. Lesing, Yung-ho-kung (Quoted in L. Chandra TAT, Delhi, 1996 H.P. Shastri (Ed.), Advayavajrasamgraha, Baroda, 1927

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.