Vajrapani thangka
I was asked to write something for the newsletter about the Vajrapani thangka at the
centre that I painted. As a student of thangka painting and Buddha dharma with very
limited knowledge and understanding I hope I don’t mislead you or make too many
mistakes. I am not qualified to introduce Vajrapani and am not confident doing so,
even in the few words I have gleaned from one source or another and we know how
easy it is to be misled by all knowing Lord Google. Any misrepresentation or
mistakes are my responsibility .
About Vajrapani
Vajrapani, in wrathful form with Manjushri
Vajrapani, peaceful form Avalokiteshvara
Vajrapani is one of the 8 great Bodhisattvas who were the Buddha Shakyamuni's
heart disciples. Sometimes he is depicted in a triad with Avalokiteshvara the
Bodhisattva of compassion and with Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom. One of
the three will be the larger central figure and the other two smaller and below on the
right and left. Vajrapani is the power aspect of complete enlightenment. He has the
power of all the Buddhas. Bodhisattvas at this level are enlightened but remain, due
to their great compassion and wisdom, until samsara is empty of suffering. Vajrapani
is said to have stood behind the Buddha and gave protection to him while he was
teaching.
He has many forms - peaceful, peaceful/semi-wrathful and wrathful and can be
white, blue, green or black, depending on how he is described in the sutras or seen
directly by realised masters or yogis. The Vajrapani here is a more familiar form. He
looks terrifying and is standing or dancing on a sun disc that is above a multicoloured
lotus. He has one face and two arms and wears the ornaments of a Bodhisattva - a crown,
earrings, three necklaces, armlets and anklets. He wears a snake around his neck and a
tigerskin tied around his waist with a belt. Finest cloth floats around him. His lips are curled
back, showing long canine teeth and his hands and feet have claws. His hair stands on end
and he his three bulging eyes see everything of the three times of past, present and future.
Though he is terrifying to look at, he is the manifestation of compassion, in wrathful
form. Wrath is not anger. When we are in immediate danger we don’t need
gentleness, logic or reason - we need to be strongly alerted. He is holding a vajra in
his right hand. A vajra is likened to the power of a thunderbolt and is indestructible.
His left hand, in the gesture of the three jewels he holds at his heart, protecting the
teachings that came from the Buddha's heart. Vajrapani helps overcome
obstacles on the path to enlightenment. He is unshakeable and fearless. His
fearlessness shows he is comfortable wearing a snake around his neck, having tamed
his mind of anger. He has overcome samsaric fears. The tigerskin skirt he wears
shows he has uprooted anger. In even more wrathful forms he is a protector of the secret
Vajrayana texts. He has the power of all the Buddhas. He has control over the
elements and the fire that surrounds him burns away obstacles and obscurations on
the path to liberation.
Peaceful deities are seated on a lotus cushion with a sun disc and with a moon disc
on top. The moon represents wisdom (understanding the truth) and the sun, method
(enlightened activity). The moon is a great mirror that reflects only what is in front of
it without discernment, conceptualising or labelling. The sun reaches everywhere -
illuminating indiscriminately. Vajrapani here is on a sun disc. He is active. Method
and wisdom are inseparable. Both the sun and the moon are in the sky.
In front of him are the five sense offerings of - silken cloth (touch), sound (cymbals),
a mirror (seeing), fruit (taste) and fragrance (perfumed conch).
What is a Thangka?
A thangka is a traditional Tibetan scroll painting. They are painted on cloth, cotton or silk
and sewn into a brocade frame. Because of this they could be rolled up and easily
transported by yak or horse or foot. When there were no roads, they needed to be carried
from monastery to monastery, to cave, tent or home. Not all thangkas are painted. Some
are applique or embroidered. The thangka on the cover of The Nectar of Manjushri’s
Speech that some have been studying with Amnyi Rinpoche is applique. The huge ones that
are rolled down the hillside during ceremonies are applique and sewn by many people.
Thangkas are holy images not art in the western sense. They originated from the
Indian tantric tradition. They offer another reality from that which we are familiar
with and habituated to. They try to express the inexpressible and to motivate and
inspire us by their enlightened qualities in visual form. Being familiar with samsara
hasn't got us liberated thus far. In Vajrayana, thangkas are used as a meditational
support. They also inspire us to what is achievable or can illustrate teachings such as
in the Wheel of Life. Some portray lineage masters or Mahasiddis (highly realised
yogis who have attained miraculous powers). Some are instructive, such as how to prepare medicine.
Preparing the canvas
Ellen’s Teacher, Nyima Gyaltsen, preparing the canvas
The frame can be used over and over. It has to be strong as the canvas is under a lot
of pressure. First cotton fabric is sewn to an inner frame of bamboo. Then this is
lashed tightly to the outer frame. Once this is done it is sized with glue and
tightened. Then a coat of glue and chalk is applied to make gesso. The canvas
shrinks when it dries, so it needs to be tightened a few times to take up the slack in
the lashing. When satisfactory, and smooth and dry, the surface is damp polished
with an upturned glass or with smooth stone. Getting a smooth, even surface is quite
tricky and my first thangka was very badly cracked. Getting the mix right takes years
of experience and likewise knowing how much to apply. Good weather is needed for
this so they thoroughly dry outside.
Iconometry
A lot of drawing practice is involved in iconometry. I drew Vajrapani 5 times before
being allowed and confident enough to draw on the canvas. The drawing is checked
and corrections checked again before I can go over the pencil in light red outline
with a fine brush. Each deity has a specific grid that involves careful, accurate
measuring. It is not like western graph paper or western measuring but uses a
different system. Measurements refer to proportions and are relative and not related
to size. It is sacred geometry and has to be accurate. I have an art background and
always enjoyed geometry and that has probably helped somewhat.
Drawing in this way takes a lot of practice and concentration to see what fits where
on the grid; what line is the grid and what is the drawing on top. With practice this
becomes less confusing and more familiar. I have far more practice drawings of
different deities than completed thangkas, of which I only have a few. A lot of those
drawings have still to be gone over with outline. This is called ‘homework’. Outlining
takes a lot of practice as it is not ‘just going over’ but using the brush to create an
elegant line that has the weight of the stroke contrary to what I was accustomed to.
The more this is practised the more beautiful and elegant the finished thangka will
be. My outlining is still rather clunky. Traditionally four years are spent drawing and
learning iconography and outlining and two years painting. Traditionally paints are
made from ground rocks mixed with glue called stone paint. I used gouache for Vajrapani.
Thangka painting I am finding is transformative because this is an art that is not
about creative expression or an artist with worldly focus on recognition or making money,
but a Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdom. It is one of the five
supreme arts and considered a science. Who commissions the thangka also gains
merit, and those who view the image also receive merit.
How the deity is represented goes back to the sutras, tantras or from clear vision.
They are not at the whim of the artist. Hand gestures (mudras) and the implements they
hold likewise have to be accurate. The colours obey certain rules also. Styles vary according
to tradition or lineage. The artist has some freedom in the composition of the
background but certain elements are included. I can only speak of the little I know of
the tradition I am learning from. I am barely scratching the surface.
Once the drawing is completed it is gone over in light red outline. Then all pencil
marks are rubbed out and the canvas can be painted. There is an order to this. All the
blues first, then the greens and when all other colours are painted this undercoat is
given a second coat or more. If this is satisfactory then shading can begin, starting
with clouds. Some things are never shaded and others in different ways. When
the shading is complete then the painting can be outlined. There are rules around
this as to what colour is used. Some elements are never outlined. Then gold is added
- either real gold mixed with glue that is then burnished or with gold paint. Much of
the outline may be gone over again by the teacher when the eyes are ‘opened’(painted)
by the teacher as part of the consecration. Then the canvas is turned over and
syllables are drawn on the back of the thangka behind the forehead, throat and heart
to correspond to enlightened body, speech and mind. When everything is dry it is cut
out of the frame. Traditionally thangkas are sewn into a brocade frame, or nowadays can be
protected behind glass in a frame.
My thangka painting teacher
I have been learning with Nyima Gyaltsen for about 6 or 7 years. He is a monk who
studied traditional thangka painting for 6 years at the Tibetan Library and Archive
and has been painting since he qualified in 2003. His teacher Sange Yeshi was asked
to set up the school by HH Dalai Lama, who had commissioned thangkas from him.
So that is the lineage I am learning from; in the Mentsah style. I met Nyima when he
had recently moved to NZ. He lives near Whangarei at Jam Tse Dhargey Ling. As I
live on Waiheke Island I can only study thangka painting part time. There can be a
while between visits. But we have phones with cameras and the post that helps. I am
appreciative to have met a teacher who has great patience with me and that I have
the time with good conditions, even though I am often lazy and distracted. I don’t see
what I do as art but as Buddhist practice and so it has purpose.
Further Viewing on YouTube:
Iconometry in Thangka Art 3.54mins
The Making of a Thangka Painting 6.55mins
Appliquéd Thangka at Norbulingka 11.48 mins
Tibetan Painter: He Uses the Natural Color Drawing Tangka Painting; How to … 16.12 mins
Tibetan Thangka Painting 5.09 mins (Smithsonian Folklife)
The Power of Vajrapani 6.37mins
Vajrapani, painted by Ellen Warren
