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Tsongkhapa
 

Tsongkapa

 Tsongkapa

Tsongkhapa

Collection: Rizong monastery  School of art: Sman-bris 18th century

The central figure is Tsongkhapa who is flanked by his chief disciples, Gyal Tsab and Khasdup respectively on the right and left. He is in preaching posture.
 He holds a flower in his right hand upon which is placed a sword which signifies the wisdom to destroy the ignorance. He holds again a lotus flower in his left
 hand upon which is placed the book of wisdom i.e. S£tra. In the top centre is Maitreya and his two spiritual sons. In the upper left corner is Amit¡bha and
 Medicinal Buddha in the right. Below left is Amitayu and Gelukpa lama on the right. On the lower right is Vajrabhairava and in the left is protector. In the
 bottom centre is Yamadaka and on right is Pectse and on the left is Nezer.

Tsongkhapa,  surrounded by the most important religious leaders of the Gelugpa-tradition and older and  related orders.
              Below Tsongkhapa is frontally depicted the Second Panchen Lama, Lobzang Yeshe, who
                             died in 1737 AD, so this painting can be dated in the early 18th cent.

                                                This exquisite image, made of gilded bronze, was commissioned by Cheftain Ganden Tsewang of
                                                    Gugey in 1423 and offered to Ganden Chokhor, one of Drepung Loseling's affiliate monasteries in
                                                    western Tibet. It served as the central image of that temple until the monastery was destroyed in 1959.

                                                    Llama Tsongkhapa, who lived in Tibet in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, was sometimes
                                                    known to his followers as the "second Buddha." He was the founder of the Gelukpa School of
                                                    Tibetan Buddhism, or "yellow hat school." A special feature of such early images of Tsongkhapa as
                                                    this one is that they are less stylized than later creations, and thus resemble his actual appearance more accurately.

                                                    The overhead banner, which represents his halo, was made at a later date, probably a century or so
                                                    after the image itself. The six amimals in it -- two elephants, two snow lions, two unicorns, two
                                                    crocodiles, two nagas, and a garuda at the top -- represent the fulfillment and complete maturity of
                                                    the six perfections: generosity, self-discipline, patience, joyous energy, meditation, and wisdom. A
                                                    royal umbrella crowns the top of the halo, symbolic of the harmony and glory of the enlightenment experience.

                                                    Text excerpted from the exhibition catalog written by Glenn Mullin and Andy Weber.

Painted by Chating Jamyang Lama
 
 

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