A gold painted thangka laid out on a table. (Craig Ferguson)

Spend any time around Tibetan communities and you’ll come across their traditional painting, the thangka. A thangka is a silk painting, sometimes with embroidery, that usually depicts a Buddhist deity, mandala or scene from Tibetan history. The artform serves a dual purpose being both decorative and an aid for meditation. Traditionally, thangka paintings were created by traveling monks. They could be easily rolled, stored and transported as the monk journeyed between different temples and monasteries, and were utilized as teaching aids. The scenes and figures depicted on them, including the Buddha, different Bodhisattvas, influential lamas, mandalas and more. They can serve as a focus for various rituals, visualizations and ceremonies conducted all in an effort to help guide the practitioner further along the path to enlightenment.

Artists creating traditional Tibetan Buddhist thangkas. The silk is decorated with Buddhist deity's, mandala symbols and other icons associated with Tibetan Buddhism. (Craig Ferguson)

Thangka painting in Tibet dates back to the 7th century CE. Princess Bhikruti, first wife of the earliest Tibetan emperor Songtsän Gampo. Bhikruti, from Nepal, is believed to have introduced thangka art to Tibet in conjunction with her husband first bringing Buddhism to the Tibetan plateau. The princess, a devout Buddhist, brought thangka images of Aryawalokirteshwar and other Nepalese deities with her when she went to Tibet. The artform itself can be traced to the 3rd century CE with Buddhist and Hindu artisans in Nepal creating the works of art in manuscripts and later on metal and as wall paintings.

Artists creating traditional Tibetan Buddhist thangkas. The silk is decorated with Buddhist deity's, mandala symbols and other icons associated with Tibetan Buddhism. (Craig Ferguson)

By about the 14th and 15th century, brighter colors began to appear in thangka art as influences from Chinese paintings started to be incorporated. As well, elements of a tantric nature became more widespread with depictions of sexuality and female elements taking a more prominent role in the paintings. By the 18th century, the Chinese influence was a lot stronger and had a much greater impact on Tibetan art.

Today, the majority of thangkas created are likely for commercial purposes rather than spiritual. Tourists to Nepal and Tibet open their wallets and buy them as souvenirs of their travels. While they still play a major role in the rituals and ceremonies of Tibetan Buddhism and will continue doing so into the future, a lot of the young students learning the craft do so with an eye on sales.

A mandala on display inside a thankga painting school. The traditional Tibetan art dates back to the 7th century CE. (Craig Ferguson)

I’ll leave you with a small gallery slideshow featuring these and more photographs on the art of thangka. These are all available for licensing and use in an editorial feature. Feel free to click on the share button to embed this in your own blog or email a link to your friends.

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, Darjeeling, India

A somewhat sad anniversary of sorts passed by recently with the 50th year of the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center being marked, ironically, on October 1st. In 1959, months after the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet for what has become a life in exile, the Refugee Self Help Center was started. At the time, thousands of Tibetans had followed the Dalai Lama into exile, seeking the ability to live lives as free human beings, something that wasn’t possible in Chinese controlled Tibet.

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, Darjeeling, India

Following the notion that “without self-help there can be no rehabilitation, be it economic, social, psychological, cultural or spiritual”, a 10 member committee was formed in Darjeeling, India in order to establish a refugee self help center. The initial funds for the center came from subscriptions, donations, charity shows and an exhibition football match with later funding being received from CARE, Catholic Relief Services, National Christian Council, The Red Cross, World Veterans Federation, American Friends Committee, Church World Service all of which was organized via the Central Relief Committee (India).

Handicrafts and clothing, Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center

The chosen site on a hill side near the town of Darjeeling had special meaning for the Tibetans. It was at this location that the 13th Dalai Lama had spent his time in exile between 1910 and 1912 when the Chinese had also invaded Tibet. By the late 1950s, the site was small estate comprising almost four acres that was able to be leased and eventually bought from St. Joseph’s College.

The center started off with just 4 workers but today has become home to well over 700. Over the course of the fifty years it has been open, close to 2000 people have called it home and been trained in various crafts, with well over half of them going on to establish their own small businesses. Also, the centre provides free housing, food, medical care, pocket money for children, clothes, uniform and stationary. This program consists of the bulk of the expenses since its inception.

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center

Over the fifty years the center has been opened, more than 400 orphans have passed through its doors. Most of them have been fortunate enough to receive sponsorship enabling them to go to various schools throughout India and in some cases, abroad. As well, primary education is offered onsite, with a small school consisting of 14 teachers. Great stress is also laid on adult education. Classes are held every morning to teach the workers at least the rudiments of reading and writing. As a result there is 60% literacy, whereas previously only a dozen or so refugees could read or write when they joined. The refugees are also taught some Hindi and English in the morning classes.

KIds at play, Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, Darjeeling

As well as education and work training, the refugee self help center also has a medical program. Established with the assistance of American Relief Services n 1961, the hospital benefits not only the center residents but also the surrounding townsfolk. The hospital has 20 beds, an experienced doctor, two nurses and other assistants. It is equipped with facilities for TB screening, vaccinations, pre and post natal care as well as a separate pathological lab, X-ray center and dental clinic.

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, Darjeeling, India

If you’re interested in helping, visiting or finding out more, the center’s contact details are

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center
65 Gandhi Road
Darjeeling
West Bengal 734101
India

President: Khedroob Thondup

General Secretary: Chime Rinchen
Manager: Dorje Tsetan

Tel:91-354-2255938

Fax:91-354-2254237

If you enjoyed this post, why don’t you leave a comment below, share it with your friends or retweet it on Twitter. Thank you.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising, 3000 Tibetans, friends and supporters took to the streets of downtown Taipei on Saturday afternoon to show their hope and fears for the future, and remind the world of the ongoing oppression of Tibetans by the Chinese communist government. Below you can see some of the faces of participants. David Reid and Neil Wade also have reports on the action. Don’t forget to click on the pictures for a larger version.

In the last post, we saw a number of photos of the Dalai Lama visiting a Buddhist temple in Bodhgaya, India. So this seems as good a time as any to take a visit to his homeland, Tibet.

At the bottom of the post under my signature, you can click on the slideshow link to see a full screen slideshow of the images.

Tibet occupies the Central Asia plateau stretching north from the Himalayan range. Due to an average elevation of 4900m, it’s commonly referred to as the “Roof of the World”. It’s southern border with Nepal features some of the worlds highest mountains, including Mt Everest.

Lhasa, at the foot of Mt Gephel is the capital of Tibet. At an altitude of 3700m, it is today home to 255 000 people. Traditionally, the city is the seat of the Dalai Lama, with two main residences, the Potala Palace (Winter Palace) and Norbulingka (Summer Palace).

The Potala is a series of buildings with 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues, and reaches a height of 117m above the ground. The site dates back to 637 CE when King Songsten Gampo, the first emperor of unified Tibet, built the first palace for his bride-to-be, Princess Wen Cheng. The present day Potala palace complex was started by the 5th Dalai Lama, Lozang Gyatso, in 1645. Known as the Great Fifth Dalai Lama for being the first Dalai Lama to effectively hold political power over Central Tibet, he was advised that the site of the Potala would be an ideal place for the seat of government, being equidistant from the two major monasteries, Sera and Drepung, and the city itself.

Today, the Potala is a museum and serves as a popular tourist site, and was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1994.

The most sacred and important temple for Tibetans is the Jokhang temple, in Lhasa. Originally built by King Songsten Gampo during his reign, it was originally callen Tsulag Khang, meaning “House of Wisdom”. It is located on the Barkhor, a series of narrow streets that form a kora, or traditional pilgrimage route.

The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is based on the Indian vihara design, and was later extended resulting in a blend of Nepalese and Tang Dynasty styles. The rooftop looks out towards the Potala and features statues of two golden deer flanking a Dharma wheel.

Tibet is home to numerous lakes and rivers. Most of the major rivers of Asia can trace their sources back to Tibet, with the Yangtze, Salween, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong and Yellow Rivers all originating in Tibet.

Several major lakes are considered to be scared bodies of water. Lake Rakshatal is believed by Hindus to have been created by Ravana, a notorious demon, for the purposes of gaining superpowers from Lord Shiva, who resides in nearby Mt Kailash.

Also close to Mt Kailash is Lake Manasarovar, the highest freshwater lake in the world at an altitude of 4556m. In the Hindu tradition, Lake Manasarovar was initially created in the mind of Lord Brahma. In the Buddhist tradition, it is associated with Anavatapta (Anotatta), the legendary lake at the center of the world, and is said to be the lake where Queen Maya conceived the Buddha after 20 childless years of marriage.

The third major sacred lake is Yamdrok Tso, the turquoise lake. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and fed by numerous small streams, Yamdrok Tso is said to represent the transformation of a goddess.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief journey to Tibet. Stay tuned because there will be a journey to a Tibetan prayer festival coming up in the near future, as well as some posts featuring south-east Asia. And there are some big reports coming from Taiwan over the next month or two, with elections and festivals all taking place.

After writing yesterdays post about Foguangshan, I decided to go through some of my old film archives and dig up some older images related to Buddhism.

In 2002-2003 I found myself in India for the third time, and Bodhgaya for the second. Bodhgaya is a small town in the state of Bihar that is the location of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Temples and monasteries from all nations that have a substantial Buddhist population are located there. During winter, Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world descend on the town, sending the population soaring twentyfold. I was spending a lot of time with some Thai friends, both monks and laity. One morning, I headed over to Wat Thai, Bodhgaya, the main Thai temple in town, for some coffee with the monks, something I did most days. We had planned to take a few people to the airport who were leaving to return to Thailand, but upon arriving at the airport, found out that the flight had been cancelled due to the thick fog that blankets the town in winter. Returning to Wat Thai, we noticed members of India’s elite security forces guarding the gates and a large contingent of media. Ushered in, we were told by the Abbot of Wat Thai that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was about to arrive for a visit and that we should hurry if we wanted to be inside the temple for the occasion. In we went, then the security forces closed the large temple doors, leaving members of the press outside with other curious onlookers. A few minutes later, the side doors opened and in walked the Dalai Lama and a group of Tibetan monks and translators. He bowed to the Buddha three times, took a seat and had some tea. The Thai monks chanted a sutra in Pali, then the Tibetans chanted in Tibetan. Finally, a short reception line was formed consisting of the Thai monks, a couple of Thai nuns and myself and the other 2-3 non-sangha members of the audience. His Holiness came down the line, stopping to exchange a few words and presenting us with a blessed kata scarf. Then he headed out, said a quick goodbye to the people outside and was ushered into the car and driven away.

Here’s some pictures from inside the temple. I apologize for the quality – they are low-res film scans.

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet. Low-res film scan.