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Thangka of Tsongkhapa

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Image of Thangka of Tsongkhapa

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/200645





Thangka of Tsongkhapa

Late 19th century
Distemper on Cloth

Greatest Dimensions
86.5 x 49.75 in. (219.71 x 126.365 cm)

Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number: 2019.4.87
Acquisition Date:
Geography: Asia, Tibet
Classification: Fine and Visual Arts; Paintings
Culture/Nationality: Tibetian
Description: Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) is arguably the single most important figure in Tibetan Buddhist history. Retrospectively identified as founder of the lineage of Dalai Lamas, he taught meditations and wrote treatises that serve as the foundation for many of Tibetan Buddhism’s most prominent practices to this day.
This painting shows him seated on a lotus pedestal, wearing a monk’s robe and the peaked yellow hat with side lapets of the Gelug order. He is believed to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri. Tsongkhapa holds the bodhisattva’s characteristic implements: Flaming Sword of Knowledge and the Book of the Perfection of Wisdom (prajna-paramita / pha rol tu phyin pa), resting on lotuses, whose stalks are held in his hands. His hands are in the dharmachakra mudra (gesture of turning the wheel of Buddhist law in motion, teaching gesture).
Beside him are his two main disciples, Gyaltsab and Kedrup. Directly beneath is the six-armed protector deity Mahakala.
Surrounding him are scenes of his life, showing him studying from various teachers, and teaching his students. These students would eventually coalesce as the Gelugpa Order, whose members are distinguished by their yellow hats and well known for monastic discipline and scholarship. The reincarnated lamas of both the Dalai and Panchen lineages belong to the Gelug Order.
These paintings allow worshippers to make offerings (mchod pa) to these same lamas, a practice that over time results in the accumulation of merit (bsod nams). Because the painting is thought to contain the essence of the teacher’s intelligence, to perform these rites before the painting is fully as effective as doing so in front of a living teacher.
Beside him are his two main disciples, Gyaltsab and Kedrup. Directly beneath is the six-armed protector deity Mahakala.
Surrounding him are scenes of his life, showing him studying from various teachers, and teaching his students. These students would eventually coalesce as the Gelugpa Order, whose members are distinguished by their yellow hats and well known for monastic discipline and scholarship. The reincarnated lamas of both the Dalai and Panchen lineages belong to the Gelug Order.
These paintings allow worshippers to make offerings (mchod pa) to these same lamas, a practice that over time results in the accumulation of merit (bsod nams). Because the painting is thought to contain the essence of the teacher’s intelligence, to perform these rites before the painting is fully as effective as doing so in front of a living teacher.

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
This object has the following keywords:
  • Buddhas - Representations in any medium of Gautama Buddha.
  • Buddhism - Refers to the philosophy and religion based on the enlightenment and teachings of the Buddha Gautama in the early sixth century BCE in the northeastern region of modern India. Playing dominant roles in the art and culture of Southeast Asia and East Asia, this religion is based on the transcendence of human suffering and pain through the acceptance of the limitations of individuality, the surrender of worldly desires and cravings that cause disappointment and sorrow, and the deliverance from the impermanence of living and individual ego based on wealth, social position, or family through the process of enlightenment (nirvana). The religion also centers around 'anatman', or no-self, the idea that the self is in a state of action or a series of changing manifestations rather than in a state of fixed, metaphysical substance. The structure of the religion is based on the Triratna ("Three Jewels" of Buddha), a tripartite schematic for living based on three elements: Buddha (the teacher), dharma (the teaching), and sangha (community).
  • Geluk - The school of Tibetan Buddhism founded in 1409 by Tsongkapa (1357-1419) with the founding of the Riwo Ganden monastery; the Dalai and Panchen lamas are both members of this school. It absorbed the Kadampa, the oldest order of Tibetan Buddhism. The Geluk has been the predominant school since the 17th century and it had enormous political power from the time of the fifth Dalai Lama. The Geluks value scholarship and debates. Followers are often called 'Yellow Hats' because of the yellow hats prescribed by Tsongkapa to differentiate Geluk monks from Nyingma monks who wear red hats. The school has been successful in reaching outside of Tibet, with centers in Europe in the United States. Its center is Dharmasala in Northern India, where an ambitious publishing program seeks to preserve and disseminate Tibetan texts.
  • Mahākāla (Buddhist deity) - Sources:
    - Sprel zla tshes bcu chen mo dang bstan srung mgon po rigs bsdus sogs spros chas gar ʼcham rigs dbyangs rta dang bcas pa ae wam ʼod kyi me long zhes bya ba bzhugs so, 2016:
    - The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1991:
    - chinabuddhismencyclopedia WWW site viewed on August 23, 2018:
  • religion - Study of religious beliefs and traditions in human life and culture from the perspective of the humanistic disciplines.
  • tankas - Tibetan scrolls or fabric temple banners bearing religious images, usually painted but sometimes embroidered or appliquéd; they are hung in temples or carried in processions.

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Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:
  • "Bonhams." (Accessed June 3, 2020): Bonhams.com. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/24262/lot/8013/a-thangka-of-tsongkhapa-central-tibet-19th-century/, Figure Number: Lot 8013; June 27, 2017, San Francisco.
  • "Bonhams." (Accessed June 3, 2020): Bonhams.com. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/24315/lot/19/a-thangka-of-tsongkhapa-and-the-gelugpa-refuge-tree-tibet-19th-century/, Figure Number: Lot 19, May 11, 2017, London.

Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, 15 Thangkas of Lama Tsongkhapa (https://resources.tsemtulku.com/free-downloads/15-thangkas-of-lama-tsongkhapa.html, Accessed March 22, 2024), https://resources.tsemtulku.com/free-downloads/15-thangkas-of-lama-tsongkhapa.html.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/200645 |title=Thangka of Tsongkhapa |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=3/29/2024 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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