Thangka: Your Window into the Cosmic View

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Thangka: A Different World View Through a Painting

What is a Thangka, Tangka, Tanka or Thanka? Tang is a Tibetan word which means flat, so a thangka is a painting on a flat surface. Easy to roll and light enough to carry, the monks in the past used these paintings as teaching tools, to show people the life and teachings of Buddha.

A thangka is more than just a painting. For the Buddhists, a thangka is an object of devotion, an aid to spiritual practice, and a bringer of blessings. Painted or embroidered, Buddhists hang these banners in monasteries or family altars or even carry them in ceremonial processions.

Thangkas are Buddhists' expression of how they look at the world. It is their window into that cosmic view and an intriguing peek into their cultures. It's a great interactive souvenir of your visit to the mountain areas of Asia especially Tibet and Nepal. If you buy a thangka, find out from the artist what he or she was intending. Get the story so you can help others learn!

Mandala Thangka

Bhaktapur, Nepal

Tangka painting in the past

Old thangkas

Many old tangkas have been preserved. In the old days, tangka painting was limited to the Buddhist priests known as the Khaibas who passed the art from master to apprentice.

Now, with increasing interest from many parts of the world, taangka painting schools have sprouted, giving skills to thousands of practitioners. In Kathmandu, these artists are mainly from the Tamang people who practice Buddhism and are therefore attracted to the art as a form of religious expression. They paint images of Buddha, gods and goddesses and other images needed for festivals or religious celebrations. In some places in Nepal, you still can get hold of some old taangkas.

A Buddhist Deity

Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu

Uses of tangkas

Tangkas are meditation tools or tell myths about deities and more

Some thangkas describe historical events involving important Lamas. Some re-tell myths associated with other deities, or act as devotional images during rituals. They are often used as media through which Buddhists make offerings or requests.

At present, tangkas are often used as meditation tools to help bring practitioners further down the path to enlightenment. Sounds complicated? Wait till you see a Tangka!

I own several tangkas as I admire the masters who painted those. I only wish I have bought some of the great masters of the ancient times. However, I have not really deepened my understanding of this art form. Maybe one day.

I have observed some of the artists and asked some of them to explain their tangkas but maybe using this for meditation will give me another perspective.

Temple Guardian Virudhaka

Kopan, Kathmandu

Styles of tangkas

Tangkas come in a variety of styles

Thangka paintings come in a variety of styles. Most serve as reminders of Buddha's teachings of compassion, kindness and wisdom. Others, include other deities.

Hanging a Thangka painting is considered by Buddhists auspicious. This brings blessings on the household so thangkas are priced possessions in Buddhist families.

Types of Thangka

Know the various types

Thangka paintings are classified into two broad categories: those which are painted and those which are made with applique or embroidery. They are sometimes classified as tson-tang (painted in colors), go tang (applique), nag tang (gold etching on black background), thsim tang (embroidery) and mar-tang (gold etching on red background).

Manjushri

Divinity of Knowledge

Tangkas require skills and mastery

Master in sketching, embellishments and mounting

To make a Thangka requires skills and mastery, skills in painting meticulous details, mastery in sketching, mastery in techniques of embellishments with paints and gold, and mounting the finished work in brocade.

Some thangkas take years to finish. Many of the thangka painters do their paintings as meditation and you can see the difference between these thangkas and those that are just painted for the airport!

As with the majority of Buddhist art, tangka is highly geometric. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears, and various ritual implements are all laid out on a systematic grid of angles and intersecting lines. A skilled thangka artist will generally select from a variety of predesigned items to include in the composition, ranging from alms bowls and animals, to the shape, size, and angle of a figure's eyes, nose, and lips. The process seems very scientific, but often requires deep understanding of the symbolism involved to capture the spirit of it.

Tangka Painting requires patience

Dedication and devotion

Thangkas are mostly painted on cotton, loosely woven produced in widths from 40 to 58 centimeters (16 - 23 inches). While some variations do exist, thangkas wider than 45 centimeters (17 or 18 inches) frequently have seams in the support. Both mineral and organic pigments are used, tempered with a herb and glue solution.

Thangka often overflow with symbolism and allusions which follow strict guidelines laid out in buddhist scripture. The artist must be properly trained and have sufficient religious understanding, knowledge, and background to create an accurate and appropriate thangka. They must follow rules specified in the Buddhist scriptures regarding proportions, shape, color, stance, hand positions, and attributes as they personify the Buddha or Deities so these must be accurate. And remember, like most traditional Asian art, imitating the masters is often the objective. It is not art fraud!

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Wheel of Life Thangka

Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Most Popular Thangkas

Which of these thangkas is your favourite?

Life of Buddha

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The Wheel of Life

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The Mandala

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The Green Tara

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The White Tara

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Tangkas on auctions

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The Life of the Buddha

From birth to nirvana

This painting tells of the story of Buddha's birth in Lumbini, (Nepal), his young life as a prince, his later dissatisfaction with his selfish life, which led him to seek enlightenment, find The Middle Way and, and after years of wandering and preaching, attain the Buddha state.

The Avalokitesvara Thangka

The Buddha of Compassion

Tangkas and Buddhism

On Auctions

Buddhists value the tangkas as meditation and teaching tools.
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The Mandala

A Sacred Space

This word comes from the Sanskrit mandala which means "essence" + "having" or "containing." It is also translated as "circle-circumference" or "completion", both derived from the Tibetan term dkyil khor. This is a Tantric device to aid in meditation. There are all kinds of Mandalas depending on the nature of the central deity. In Vajrayana Buddhism, a dkyil khor consists of an outer circular mandala and an inner square (or sometimes circular) mandala with a mandala palace at its center. A Buddhist mandala is usually envisaged as a sacred space, a Buddha realm. The mandala is supposed to be contemplated repeatedly to the point that the image becomes fully internalized in its minutest details so that it can be visualized anytime one recites the mantras that go with it.

A Buddhist Monk Drawing the Mandala Thangka

Ile de France

The Mandala on Auctions

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The Wheel of Life

Transmigratory Existence

This thangka details in a most lucid manner, the basic Buddhist belief of transmigratory existence, the process of rebirth. The painting shows the wheel held in the embrace of a ferocious god with fangs, Shenje, the ruler of the dead. Outside the wheel is the figure of the Lord Buddha who is free from the cycle of life and death. The wheel's axle symbolizes the first noble truth in the Buddhist belief: the existence of suffering. Suffering, the Buddhists believe, is caused by the three evils symbolized by the pig (ignorance), the cock (lust) and the snake (hatred). Managing these is the path to enlightenment.

The Wheel of Life Thangka

Hemis, Ladakh, India

Want to get a tangka for yourself?

Here are some choices

Tangkas In Golog: The Tangka Album of Lung-ngon Monastery (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)

Tangkas In Golog: The Tangka Album of Lung-ngon Monastery (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)

Tibetan Buddhism has gained enormous ground in the more...0 points

Tibetan Tangka Collectable Set of Four

Tibetan Tangka Collectable Set of Four

A set of four wellknown Tibetan old tradition imag more...0 points

19th - 20th Century Tibetan Thangka, Tangka, Buddhist Deity

19th - 20th Century Tibetan Thangka, Tangka, Buddhist Deity

Very nice 20th century tibetan tangka, used in pra more...0 points

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #108 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #108 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #068 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #012 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #072 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #073 - FREE SHIPPING

Background and History of Thangka Painting Art Thangka, more...0 points

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #998 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #998 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #042 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #042 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #048 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #048 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #113 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #113 - FREE SHIPPING

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Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #999 - FREE SHIPPING

Tibet Tibetan Thangka Mineral Painting Thanka Art #999 - FREE SHIPPING

Background and History of Thangka Painting Art Thangka, more...0 points

The White Tara

Born from a tear of the Boddhisatwa

White Tara is the female deity born from a tear of the Boddhisatwa of compassion. In thangkas, the White Tara is usually portrayed seated in full vajra posture, dressed and crowned like Boddhisatwa and with extra eyes in her forehead, palm and feet. Her right hand is in a boon conferring gesture while her left hand is in a teaching one at the same time holding a lotus. The colours can be extraordinary.

Here are some tangkas

Take a look

VajraYogini_macro by Spirit-Fire
Padmasambava_RainbowGuru by Spirit-Fire
Padmasambava_RainbowGuru_macro by Spirit-Fire
VajraYogini by Spirit-Fire
automatically generated by Flickr

The Green Tara

Spiritual Consort of Amogasiddhi

The Green Tara is the spiritual consort of Amogasiddhi, the Dhyani Buddha. In the Lama tradition, she is incarnated in all good women and is believed to have a mortal base in the persons of the Nepali and Chinese princess who married the great king Srang-Tsan Gampo credited with the introduction of Buddhism in Tibet and China. She is often portrayed like the White Tara except that in her left hand she holds a half closed lotus or blue water lily flower with long petals.

The Green Tara Thangka

Buddhist Symbol of Prosperity

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Know more about tangkas

Reincarnated paintings The Tangka painters of Tibet in exile at Dharamsala
by motonomad | video info

15 ratings | 4,602 views
curated content from YouTube

More on Thangkas

Check these out

This lens features Kathmandu in Nepal as one of Asia's top destinations. If you are interested to learn how to paint a thangka, travel to Kathmandu. There in Boudanath or Changu Narayan, you can find many schools on how to paint a thangka. In Champak Thanka Painting School in Changu Narayan, Nepal (right across the temple) there is a three month course.


7 World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu
Tucked into the heart of the world's greatest mountains, Kathmandu hosts an absolute banquet of 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Durbar Squares of Kathmand...

Boudanath
Om Mani Padme Om, Om Mani Padme Om, Om Mani Padme Om. This is Boudanath's deep noted and constant mantra that drones in human stereo as you venture into Nepa...

The Changu Narayan Temple
O ne of the temples that stayed in my memory of our trip to Nepal is Changu Narayan. It covers at least seventeen hundred years of Nepalese cultural developm...

What are some blogs saying about Thangkas?

Blogs Worth Checking

Tibetan Village Project Establishes Thangka Training Center and School for ...
Non-profit organization Tibetan Village Project (TVP) has established a Thangka painting training center and school in Tagong city. The Tagong Thangka Center provides a home and school for 48 orphans and disadvantaged children from the Tagong area of ...
Film on Tibetan Thangka picked for Cannes screening
A Tibetan-language drama feature depicting traditional Thangka painters has been selected for screening in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival this month, according to the film's director. The film, titled "Thangka," is directed by Chinese mainland ...
Tibetan Village Project Funds Education in Rural Tibet
One major TVP education project is the Thangka Training center. This school is located in Tagong, a city in western Sichuan. The school takes in orphans and children from rural and impoverished families in the surrounding countryside.

Paint your own tangka

Some resources in painting your own tangka

Tangkas In Golog: The Tangka Album of Lung-ngon Monastery (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)

Tangkas In Golog: The Tangka Album of Lung-ngon Monastery (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)

Tibetan Buddhism has gained enormous ground in the more...0 points

Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods & Materials by David P. Jackson

Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods & Materials by David P. Jackson

This book is the only detailed description of the more...0 points

Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice by Andy Weber, Jonathan Landaw

Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice by Andy Weber, Jonathan Landaw

This book is unique in its explanation of the rela more...0 points

Paradise and Plumage: Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting by Robert N. Linrothe

Paradise and Plumage: Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting by Robert N. Linrothe

A visually stunning inaugural catalog of the Rubin more...0 points

Worlds of Transformation by Marilyn M. Rhie, Robert Thurman

Worlds of Transformation by Marilyn M. Rhie, Robert Thurman

Devoted to 200 Tibetan thangka paintings from the more...0 points

Books on Tangkas

What's on auction?

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What do you know about Thangkas?

Share it here or just leave me some comments

  • bakerwoman May 8, 2012 @ 8:53 pm | delete
    My niece trained for 7 years in Tibetan Buddhist sacred art at theTsering Art School in Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu. She painted some of the most exquisite thangkas. Thanks for sharing this.
  • flicker Apr 4, 2012 @ 8:47 pm | delete
    Enjoyed seeing all the beautiful Tangkas!
  • karmicchristian Jan 2, 2012 @ 1:13 am | delete
    Wow! This is exquisite artwork. Thanks for highlighting this unique work of grandeur!
  • aesta1 Mar 30, 2012 @ 10:18 am | delete
    They are exquisite as they are done meditatively.
  • grannysage Nov 7, 2011 @ 6:05 am | delete
    These are stunning. I can appreciate how it could take years to create just one. I love mandalas and I could meditate on these for hours. Thank you for sharing this sacred art.
  • aesta1 Mar 30, 2012 @ 10:18 am | delete
    That is exactly the use of tangkas.
  • SereneSea Oct 4, 2011 @ 9:17 am | delete
    Lovely artistic Thangkas, I haven't come across ones but they look like beautiful tapestries to me. A great teaching tool, if monks are using the paintings for learning and teaching as well.
  • aesta1 Mar 30, 2012 @ 10:19 am | delete
    They are easy to carry for the monks. They just rolled them and they have their teaching tool.
  • LotusMalas Sep 27, 2010 @ 6:14 am | delete
    I really adore Thangkas as well! I've been saving up for a really nice one :-)
  • aesta1 Mar 30, 2012 @ 10:20 am | delete
    It is worth investing on a really good one. In the past, we used to get these in the night market in KL but they were not as good.
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Painting your own tangka

With these brushes

Charles Leonard Inc. Sabeline Water Color Brushes with Wood Handle, # 4, 0.56 Inch, White Bristles, 1 Dozen (73704)

Charles Leonard Inc. Sabeline Water Color Brushes with Wood Handle, # 4, 0.56 Inch, White Bristles, 1 Dozen (73704)

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Connoisseur Gold Nylon Short Handle Brush Set, 15-Piece

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Connoisseur Mini Brush Set, 9-Piece

Connoisseur Mini Brush Set, 9-Piece

Protege by Connoisseur that are priced for the hob more...0 points

Charles Leonard Inc. Water Color Brushes with Pointed Rounds, # 12, 1.06 Inches Camel Hair, Black Handle, 1 Dozen (73512)

Charles Leonard Inc. Water Color Brushes with Pointed Rounds, # 12, 1.06 Inches Camel Hair, Black Handle, 1 Dozen (73512)

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MASH Professional 15 piece Nail Art Brush Kit Set

MASH Professional 15 piece Nail Art Brush Kit Set

MASH is proud to introduce its first set of Nail A more...0 points

Debra Lynn Professional Dotting Tool With Nail Art Brush

Debra Lynn Professional Dotting Tool With Nail Art Brush

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Darice 80-Piece Professional Art Set

Darice 80-Piece Professional Art Set

Studio 71 deluxe art set overflows with color and more...0 points

Drawing and Sketching Pencil Set In Zippered Carrying Case

Drawing and Sketching Pencil Set In Zippered Carrying Case

Everyone will love the Keep N' Carry Artist Sets f more...0 points

6 Different Size Professional Acrylic Nail Art Brush(NO.2,4,6,8,10,12)

6 Different Size Professional Acrylic Nail Art Brush(NO.2,4,6,8,10,12)

Package contents:No. 2 Nail Brush x 1No. 4 Nail Brush more...0 points

Royal & Langnickel 150-Piece All Media Easel Artist Set

Royal & Langnickel 150-Piece All Media Easel Artist Set

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Athena Angular 7600-1/2 Paint Brush

Athena Angular 7600-1/2 Paint Brush

This 1/2 angular paint brush is a short corner bru more...0 points

Royal & Langnickel 124-Piece Sketching and Drawing Easel Artist Set

Royal & Langnickel 124-Piece Sketching and Drawing Easel Artist Set

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aesta1

Our first exposure to thangkas was in Malaysia. Since then, we have seen how thangkas are painted in several other countries and have come to apprecia... more »

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