Buddhist art of the Himalayas and Vajrayana Buddhism

The Himalayan region encompasses Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Kashmir. The Gallery's collection centres upon the objects and images of Vajrayana Buddhism, the most expanded and esoteric form of Buddhist practice. Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism is the esoteric offshoot of the more general Mahayana Buddhism. In Mahayana practice, spiritual realisation is achieved by cultivating ethical perfection gradually over innumerable lifetimes. By contrast, Vajrayana focuses on attaining perfection rapidly, within a single life, and under the careful guidance of a teacher (guru or lama).

Vajrayana literally means 'adamantine (or impenetrable) path', a reference to the indestructible nature of Buddhahood. Vajrayana Buddhism features a bewildering array of deities and teaches that every sentient being is potentially a Buddha but that human ignorance clouds this potential. The goal of an enlightened mind (bodhicitta) is achieved through complex rituals and transformative yogic meditations. which develop the ideals of wisdom (prajna) and compassion (upaya). In the Tibetan tradition works of art are created as aids to these rituals or meditative visualisations. A work of art is thus a means and support to an experience of Buddhahood; it is intended not simply to be 'looked at' but 'entered into'. One artform unique in this regard is the thangka or 'portable icon'. Other distinctive visual forms of the Vajrayana tradition include mandalas (literally a 'circle', or sacred diagram), iconographic sculptures and ritual objects and implements.

Thangka

The Tibetan term thangka (flat field) refers to hanging banners that are painted or sewn. A thangka typically consists of a sacred image, surrounded by a border of red and yellow. Almost as significant as the consecrated image is the thangka’s silk or Chinese brocade mount. Since textiles were traditionally a precious commodity, thangka mounts are frequently made by piecing together several bits of valuable cloth. Wooden rods at the top and bottom allow the thangka to be rolled up for easy storage and transportation. A cover of thin silk, which is decoratively folded when the thangka is on display, protects the image.

Female Buddhas

Around the 7th century, under Vajrayana inspiration, a new type of figure entered the Buddhist pantheon: female Buddhas. The Vajrayana idea that Buddhahood could be achieved rapidly within the present life (and the present body) allowed for the possibility of both male and female Buddhas. In art, female Buddhas may appear nude or wearing bone ornaments. They brandish weapons and skull cups, and dance as they trample vanquished foes that symbolise obstructions to attainment, like ego and ignorance. Bestowed with the title samyaksambodhi (supreme, perfect enlightenment), they manifest complete awakening. Vajrayogini and Tara are among the most revered female Buddhas.

Buddha couples

Unlike the calm, contemplative Buddha figures of Mahayana, Vajrayana Buddhas (both male and female) are dynamic, semi-wrathful beings that assume warrior-like postures, and wear skull crowns and garlands of severed human heads. Locked in eternal physical embrace, the Buddha couples display fierce weapons in their multiple hands. Outsiders may be confused by the fearsome imagery and sexual symbolism of Vajrayana Buddhism. However, Buddhist practitioners understand that the aggressive and frightening attributes are a Buddha’s intense compassion channelled into forceful energy to effectively guide obstinate, recalcitrant beings towards attainment. The sexual embrace symbolises the inseparable union of compassion (male) and wisdom (female), the two core constituents of awakening in Buddhist imagination.

This dynamic Buddha couple personifies the Kalachakra teachings followed by Tibetan Buddhists worldwide. The Sanskrit word kalachakra (wheel of time) refers to the cycles of time that lead to spiritual awakening. Vajrayana Buddhism maintains that awakening occurs when practitioners understand the true nature of reality. Vajrayana Buddhists conceive reality as inherently non-dual, and express this notion through the merging of dual pairs such as left and right, sun and moon, and god and goddess. The embracing Kalachakra and Vishvamata manifest this principle and reflect the unification of gender polarities (male and female) to represent non-dual truth. Simultaneously, the pair expresses the idea that compassion (male) combines with wisdom (female) to result in blissful awakening.