For a Buddhist, beginning the journey along the road to enlightenment commences with the first understanding of the possibility of realising our Buddha nature. It is only when we fully understand this possibility of evolution into a higher being and discover the need to visualise our inner potential that we see the necessity for the development of an art form which matches our aspirations. In the religious arts of the world’s many and diverse cultures, few have provided as wide a canvas as the Tibetan on which to project visualisations of the vast range of possible aspects of the enlightened mind.
Origins
The Buddha’s task as a teacher could not even
begin until works of art had opened the people’s Tibetan Monk - yellow hat
sectimagination to the revelation of new perceptions. So we find that in the
Buddhist scriptures almost every discourse is preceded by some sort of miracle,
some dramatic revelation of an extraordinary perception to stimulate the
people’s imaginations. After the Buddha’s death those who knew him began to
make icons of his liberating presence, although at first it was considered that
no human representation could do justice to his memory, so that symbols such as
the wheel (of the Law), or the trees (of spiritual enlightenment) were used.
By the time Buddhism came to Tibet in the
seventh century AD, however, the artistic expression of the Mahayana, or
Universal Vehicle, had reached considerable heights of inspiration. Sakyamuni
Buddha, various cosmic Buddhas, magnificent female and male Bodhisattvas, all
were portrayed in splendid paradise-like settings. And with the development of
Tantric Buddhism the archetypal imagery went more deeply into the unconscious
mind to uncover other enlightening possibilities, both terrifying and benign.
The earliest surviving Tibetan images date
from the ninth century AD, and from that time until the present a wealth of
magnificent painting and sculpture survives which has served both as the focus
of meditation visualisations for many generations of Buddhist adepts, as well
as educational illustrations for ordinary Tibetan people. Tragically, since the
Chinese occupation began in 1949, many thousands of temples with their splendid
wall paintings and magnificent sculptures have been destroyed, so that today
there are probably many more beautiful Tibetan works of art in Western museums
and private collections than presently exist in Tibet.
Painting
Magnificent examples of Tibetan temple wall
paintings still exist, however, both in Tibet itself (Tsaparang, the Gyantse
Kumbum), in the Tibetan cultural areas of Indian Ladakh Alchi), and Himachal
Pradesh (Tabo), in Nepal (Mustang) and in Bhutan (Paro Dzong).
ThangkaHowever, the painting medium best
known outside Tibet is the thangka, or scroll painting. Usually painted on
cotton cloth, more rarely on silk, colours are traditionally made from minerals
as well as vegetable dyes. Before application they are de-saturated in varying
degrees in lime and mixed with boiled gum Arabic. These ‘stone’ colours
maintain their intensity so well that many old thangkas still retain striking
colours. Today, Tibetan artists also use modern synthetic dyes.
Thangkas are traditionally mounted in frames
of silk brocade with a pole or batten at the top and bottom so that it can be
easily hung. Since it is also easily rolled up, the thangka can be stored away
or readily transported from once place to another. Itinerant lamas used them as
icons of personal devotion and to sanctify tents in which they held teachings
of Buddhist doctrine. They are also used as effective teaching aids. In most
Tibetan homes the thangka, together with small bronze images, is an integral
part of the family altar and a vehicle of visual dharma.
Manuscripts also are often adorned with
miniature paintings, as are their wooden covers, and sets of initiation cards,
called tsakali, which are another medium of miniature painting.
Sculpture
Metal, clay, stucco, wood, stone, and butter
are all used in the creation of sculptural images, yet by far the best known of
these is metal, since small, portable, bronze images of a great variety of
meditation deities are most frequently encountered. Nevertheless, clay and
stucco have been used since ancient times, particularly in the creation of very
large images installed in monasteries and temples. Wood is also widely used,
intricately carved for entrances to temples and for interior pillars and in covers
for scriptures in monastery libraries. Most portable images, however, are made
from metal, usually bronze, but occasionally silver or gold. Bronzes are
usually made by the ‘lost wax process’, where a wax image is created, then
coated with a clay based mould which is subsequently baked allowing the wax to
melt and drain away, replacing it with molten metal. The finished image is
often then gilded and adorned with precious and semi precious stones. Metal
images are also sometimes made by the repousse method, where copper, or less
commonly silver or gold, is hammered out into the required shape from `the
reverse side. Works of art are usually commissioned, either by monasteries or
lay patrons, and their execution generally follows strict canonical rules as to
proportions, symbols and colours, in accordance with artistic manuals. Tibetan
art is largely anonymous, and this custom of artistic anonymity is grounded in
the Buddhist belief in working toward the elimination of the individual ego.
The Tibetan attitude to a work of art is that when it is successfully completed
it has an existence of its own and an inherent power to help the viewer come to
spiritual realisation. It ceases to be the property of the artist when it
leaves his studio.
Form and Function
The form given to a painted or sculpted image
follows a clear and well defined iconography set out in the appropriate texts,
whilst artists’ manuals illustrate the strict measures to be observed in
achieving correct proportion and balance. The Tibetan artist, like his Indian
counterpart, is not free to improvise on his personal concepts of the
appearance of an individual deity but is required to work within a well defined
structure. In the tantric art of Tibetan Buddhism, benign, wrathful, serene or
terrifying deities all illustrate an aspect of the Buddha mind, or the
potential to be found in each of us, so that the artist projects for us
archetypal images from deep within our subconscious, inviting us to contemplate
those aspects of our being which usually remain hidden. For the meditation
practitioner, such images are models for the process of visualisation, where
the adept develops the ability, through stabilised concentration and cultivated
inner vision, to visualise the deity in all its phenomenal detail and then
absorb this vision into him/herself and so absorb the spiritual qualities
particular to that deity.
Butter Sculptures
These are a complex and uniquely Tibetan
concept and are usually constructed by teams of monks for a festival or
religious event. They are not entirely made from butter, however, being
constructed on frames of wood and leather, to which are applied barley flour
and butter dough. They are then painted. Some were truly gigantic being as high
as a three storey building. After the ceremony they are destroyed. In this they
are like sand mandalas such as the well known Kalachakra Sand Mandala,
painstakingly constructed over many days from different coloured grains of sand
before being swept away at the end of the ceremony. The symbolism behind the
destruction of such works is based on the illusory nature of things, even those
we cherish most.
Decorative Arts and Crafts
Although Tibet had no political ties with
China after the end of the Yuan Dynasty (mid 14th century), there were
nevertheless frequent visits of monks and lamas to China from the great Tibetan
monasteries. This enhanced trade between the two countries and added greatly to
the monasteries’ wealth, at the same time providing a channel through which
cultural and artistic influences enriched Tibetan life.
Magnificent examples of Tibetan temple wall paintings still exist, however, both in Tibet itself (Tsaparang, the Gyantse Kumbum), in the Tibetan cultural areas of Indian Ladakh Alchi), and Himachal Pradesh (Tabo), in Nepal (Mustang) and in Bhutan (Paro Dzong).
Decorative Arts and Crafts
Although Tibet had no political ties with
China after the end of the Yuan Dynasty (mid 14th century), there
were nevertheless frequent visits of monks and lamas to China from the great
Tibetan monasteries. This enhanced trade between the two countries and added
greatly to the monasteries’ wealth, at the same time providing a channel
through which cultural and artistic influences enriched Tibetan life.
Silk
brocades and richly worked robes, pearls and precious stones, ritual vessels
and incense burners, gilt images and lacquered goods, all found their way into
the homes of the aristocracy and into the monasteries. Tibetans produced
earthenware, often of fine quality, but porcelain from China, especially since
the Ming period, was also highly prized.
The
Tibetan love of exuberant decoration resulted in everyday items being produced
with wonderful embellishments. Nearly every item used by Tibetans was fashioned
in this highly decorative way. Ink pots, tinder pouches, knives, teapots,
storage vessels, all were decorated lavishly in characteristic ways.
Tibetan
artisans are skillful people, and they have long produced large quantities of
ornate and intricate silver and gold jewellery, often set with coral, turquoise
and other precious stones. Carpet weaving for domestic and monastic use is
another ancient craft, and carpets are popular products from refugee
communities even today.
Carved
and painted wooden tables and cabinets are still in high demand as are silver
lined wooden bowls for butter tea. Crafts and decorative arts enormously
enriched Tibetan life and penetrated all levels of society.
The Arts in Exile
In
Dharamsala, the Centre for Tibetan Art and Crafts was established in 1977 under
the auspices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Charitable Trust. Its primary
purpose is not only to preserve essential areas of the endangered Tibetan
culture but to inspire fresh enthusiasm and creativity in Tibetan artistic
expression.
Selection
of students is made on the basis of both aptitude and economic background with
priority given to those applicants who are particularly needy. Most of the
crafts produced are exported through the offices of the Charitable Trust.
The
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) was established in Dharamsala in
1971 as a repository for ancient cultural objects, books and manuscripts from
Tibet. LTWA now has eight departments: Research and Translation, Publications,
Oral History and Film Documentation, Reference (reading room), Tibetan Studies,
Tibetan manuscripts, Museum, School for Thangka Painting and Wood Carving. LTWA
has a team of Tibetan scholars engaged in research, translation, instruction
and the publication of books.
Since
its founding the Library has acquired a reputation as an international centre
for Tibetan Studies. To date, more than five thousand scholars and research
students from all over the world have benefited from this unique educational
institution. LTWA also offers regular classes in Buddhist philosophy.
[ Text with kind permission from the Australian Tibetan Society Inc. ]
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