During the l,300 year recorded history in Tibet, from the early years of the Tubo Kingdom till today Bon Religion and Tibetan Buddhism had their respective prime time as a mainstay culture for a long period of time to dominate thoughts of Tibetans and all aspects of their lives, the social political, economic, production and household ones. The torrent of transmission of Tibetan Buddhism, and the religio-political feudal serf system incurred a thick religious cloud on the plateau. Shrouded in this atmosphere, the Tibetan arts have been inevitably dyed with a distinctive religious color. Every artistic matter has been branded with religion. There is simply no profane art in strict sense. In another word, religious arts, especially the Tibetan Buddhist ones, have constituted the main body of the Tibetan arts and made it stand out in utterly different way among the others.
Arts contain unique functions of cognition, education and aesthetic appreciation. In its early stage, Buddhism opposed to make any image of Buddha. With recognizing of the functions, it lifted the ban and switched to promote it. While it is Tibetan Buddhism that has pushed it up to the summit. It has constructed a pyramid hierarchy for Sakyamuni and his surrounding pantheon. The artists have drawn or sculptured a large number of vivid and different images of Buddha and deities. In this pantheon, it not only comprises various deities and spirituals in the traditional Indian Buddhism, but also includes those from the indigent Tibetan Bon religions. For them we can make a rough classification according to the following widely seen subjects:
l. The Manifestations of Buddha, Bodhisattvas and a Variety of Deities
Subject for Buddha and his manifestations: Buddha is the sovereign of the realm of Tibetan Buddhism, and is the most frequently occurred figure in Tibetan art works as wel1. In light of time series, there are Buddhas in three Periods as well as Seven Heroic Past Buddhas. According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Present Buddha Sakyamuni saved the sentient beings during his life time, while the Past Buddha Dipamkara did the same before the inception of Sakyamuni and Future Buddha Maitreya has being doing the same since the nirvana of Sakyamuni. In light of space series, there are Five Dhyani Buddhas staying in different cosmic locations: Vairocana is in the center; Akshobhya in the east; Ratnasambhava in the south, Amitabha in the west and Amoghasiddhi in the north. The images of the Five Dhyani Buddhas are arranged in the Vajra circle of the mandalas for people to meditate. In addition, Buddha Kapala, Baishajiaguru (the Medicine Buddha) and other thirty-five Buddhas are also the major subjects of the sculpture works.
Subject for Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are practitioners of the six basic practices of Buddhism: generosity, patience, precepts, vigor, meditation and wisdom. They strive for the statement of the ultimate bodhi and masterfu1ly lead sentient beings onto the path of enlightenment. Just as what is said: ??Attaining enlightenment with great wisdom and purifying the world with great compassion??. In Tibetan Buddhism, Avalokitesvara (Goddess of Compassion) is most venerated. Other Bodhisattvas frequently represented in the art works, either individually or in-group beside Buddha, are: Savanivara, Vajrapani, Maitreya, Manjushri, Samanbhadra, Akarshgarbha and Kshitigarbha. Othermore, the following female Bodhisattvas are also the subjects of the Tibetan art works: Sarasvatii, Vasudhara Marici. Parn'a Shavarii, Ushnishavijaya, Sitatapatra (Goddess of the glorious white umbrella) and Mahamayuri, and so on.
Subject for Taras. Taras, also known as Savioresses. According to Tibetan Buddhism. they are manifestations of Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Compassion. As Yidams, they vow to work for the benefit of all beings until all are liberated from samsara??s grip and from the Eight Great Fears. Therefore they are very popular in Tibetan art. There are twenty one taras distincted from each other by their skin colors. Among the all, the White Tara, Green Tara, Yellow Tara (Bhrkuti), Blue Tara (Ekajati, or ??Single plaited Mother??) and Red Tara (Kurukulla) are the most famous.
Subject for female Prajnas, or consorts. As a fema1e embodiment of enlightened wisdom, they are the consorts of Buddha or Yidams, and usua1ly appear together with their male consorts in art works. The most famous are: Buddhalocana (the divine consort of Vairocana), Mamaki (the divine consort of Akshobhya), Samantabhadri (the divine consort of Ratnasambhava), Pandara (the divine consort of Amitabha) and Tara (the Divine consort of Amogasiddhi).
Subject for Dakas and Dakinis: ??Dakas?? mean ??male sky Walkers??, while Dakinis mean ??female sky walkers??. Some of them are heaven1y beings, while some are earthly variety. The ones frequently occurred in sculptures are usually the heavenly beings, who have attained enlightenment and are considered the supreme embodiments of wisdom and teachers and protectors of refugees and souls. The most frequently seen Dakas are Buddha, Ratna, Padma, Karma, Vajra and Naropa, etc; while the frequently seen Dakinis are Simhamukha (Lion-faced Dakinis), Vajravarahi, Karma Dakini, Rikshamukha (Bear-faced Dakini) and Vyaghramukha (Tiger-faced Dakini), etc.
Subject for Yidams. This is the most important subject in the tantric arts. With the help of a visionary Yidam, the meditating per son can more easily bear the images of Buddha in his mind and more smoothly achieve his goal. Every sect has its own Yidams to venerate. Every person is also free to choose his or her own Yidam in accordance with his or her own need for attainment. The following Yidams are often occurred in the sculptures: Guhyasamaja, Samvara, Mahamaya (Great Illusion) Vajra, Vaishravana, Hevajra, Kalachakra (Time-wheel) Vajra and so on. They often appear as multi-heads, multi-arms and multi-legs and with three eyes on each face. Some are with peaceful looks, while some are wrathful. Most of them embrace a female deity.
Subject for Dharma Guardian Deities. Both the sutra and tantra have their dharma guardian deities. The most famous ones of the sutra are the Four Heavenly Kings. The guardian deities all have supernatural prowess. Most of them were originally non-Buddhists but later on subdued by the charisma of Sakyamuni and other great Buddhist masters. They vowed to take refuge to Buddha and Dharma and protect the practitioners both physically and mentally. The tantra has even more protectors. Most of them are enlightened. The eight most renowned protectors are: Magzor Gyalmo, Sister Guardians Brahma Devi, Sister Guardian Vaisravana, Mahakala, Hayagriva (Horse-Necked Dharmakya), Yamankaka and so on.
2. The Mandala
??Mandala?? in Sanskrit means ??rostrum?? or ??rostrum ground??, on which all the deities representing the past, present and the future from all the cosmic compass points (east, west, south, north, northeast. northwest. southeast and southwest from high above and down below) are gathered, It is indeed the ??hall of tantric pantheon??. There are four types of madalas: the Great mandala, the Samadhi mandala, the Dharma mandala, and Karma mandala. Among the four, only the first and fourth ones have something to do with the Buddhist fine arts. The first one is in the form of drawing, while the fourth one is in the form of sculpture. In the center of the Vajra circle, there are cardinal manifestations of Buddha according to the tantrism: Five Dhyani Buddhas. Around them, there are four Bodhisattvas of outer dedication and four Bodhisattvas of inner dedication, as well as a number of guardian deities, constituting a tantric universe with a sequence of time and space. By concentrating one's meditation on the mandala, the practitioner can reach the selfless and un-dual realm.
3. The Gurus and Dharma Kings
The subject for gurus and dharma kings are placed high in the Tibetan art. In Tibetan Buddhism, to the ordinary believers, sangha, together with Buddha, are regarded as two of the ??Triple Jewels??. From this you can see the importance of sangha. While those great sangha masters are the founders or great commissioners of the sects of Tibetan Buddhism, and achieved greatly in understanding, transmission and practicing of the doctrines. They have been venerated and admired by people of later generation. Their images and deeds have also been the focus of the Tibetan arts. The most popular masters are: Padmasambhava, Atisha, Marba, Milar Rigba, the Five Forefathers of Sakya Sect, Bhuton, Dusum Khyenpa, Tsongkapa, Dalai Lamas and Panchen Erdenis, etc.
The Dharma Kings refer to the laity leaders or figures who have laid significant foundation for the development of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the all, Songtsan Ganpo, Trisong Detsan and Tritsuk Detsan are most prominent. Different from the subjects about Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Dharma kings are the famous figures in history. Because of the significant roles in developing Tibetan Buddhism, they are mystified .and widely venerated.
4. The Biographic Stories and Jataka Stories of Sakyamuni
The biographic stories and Jataka stories of Sakyamuni also are frequently reflected in the aft works of Tibetan Buddhism. The biographic stories of Sakyamuni are about his deeds during his Whole lifetime. These deeds traditionally were summarized as twelve major activities, called ??Manifestation of the twelve deeds??. These include: Buddha left Tushita and came to our world; entered the royal womb of his mother, was born painlessly, exhibited unmatched prowess as the wisest youth, married and enjoyed the company of his royal consorts; renounced worldliness at the age of twenty-nine; practiced meditation and asceticism for six years; set out for Vajrasana, the place now cal1 Bodh Gaya; defeated the hosts of negative forces (mara), manifested total enlightenment; turned the wheel of universal truth for the welfare of beings on the Earth; and finally passed into parinirvana. While the Jataka stories of Sakyamuni are about Sakyamuni??s previous lives as a king, Bhram, merchant, lady, e1ephant and monkey and his many good deeds to expound the basic principles of Buddhism, such as comeuppance, patience, generosity, vigor and compassion, etc. For example, a story named ??Feeding a Tiger with His Own Body?? describes that there upon a time Buddha in his previous life as a prince played in a forest and saw a tiger cub being hungry to death, so he feed the tiger with his own body and save a life at the cost of his own life. Another story 'Cutting His Own Flesh for a Dove?? says that when Buddha in his previous life as a Bhram saw a snipe was nosing down a dove, he cut off a piece of his own flesh to save both 1ives of the snipe and dove. The two stories expound the six basic Buddhist doctrines and educate people by means of the art. Both the biographic stories and Jataka stories of Sakyamuni are narrative subjects and need a relatively larger space to represent, so they often occur in frescos or thangkas.
Though the art of Tibetan Buddhism is rich in subject matters and varies in shaping, as a kind of religious art, there are prescriptions about shaping, color, garments and dimension, etc, in conform to their symbo1ic functions. This, on the one hand, had laid up the basic shaping laws for the artistic development; on the other hand, brought in a tendency of conventionalization, and given a negative influence to the vitality of the artistic life. The aesthetic specifications of the Buddhism are quite different from the aesthetic specifications of the art. The former were formulated to satisfy the doctrine of Buddhism instead of the art itself. The doctrine requires that the supernatural power (Buddha nature) of Buddha, deities and Bodhisattvas shall be stood out. The artistic representation of images of Buddha aims at making the Buddha nature not only shine on the face of Buddha, but a1so fuse into the sou1 of Buddha according to the doctrine. Therefore the face and all parts of the body of Buddha have all been uniquely depicted, so that the believers can more ??approach?? to Buddha and the deities and cherish and love Buddha from their deep heart.
The aesthetic specifications on images of Buddha are the ??thirty-two major marks?? and the ??eighty secondary characteristics??. The shaping of Buddha is usually with a high bun, large earlobe, full and round face, eyes watching the ground, a Kasava covering the body, naked right shoulder, a relaxed body standing or seating in lotus body, hands in different gestures, and so on, and in a ce1estial spirit of emptiness and perfection. For the Bodhisattvas, they usually appear with a triple-leaf crown, attended eyes, peaceful and kind face, a celestial cloth wrapping the two shoulders, a long apron covering the legs, some pendants on the neck and chest, armlets and brace1ets on the arms and wrists, ank1ets on the ankles. Their complexion usually are solemn and serious, a representation of their wisdom and compassion, as well as their idealistic and selfless spirit of saving the sentient beings. While for shaping of the guarding deities, according to the doctrine and by incorporating the wrathful and awful atmosphere into the aesthetic realm of Buddhism, their images are delineated to be powerful enough to defeat all kinds of metal enemies, such as corrupt, sex, desire and idiotic, as well as the violation of Buddha or power of Buddha from the forces of non-Buddhism or evil spirit They are usually with a wrathful express ion and a third eye on the forehead, wearing a skull crown with flaming patterns, some rings or snakes on the neck, arms and legs. Their lower part of the body are covered by tiger or elephant hides with some skull as decoration. Under their feet, there are enemies of the dharma: the elephant-headed devil, evil spirits symbolizing sexual desire, corruption and puzzled mind, etc.
Nonetheless, the religious creeds and rituals have not bound the wisdom and creativity of the Tibetan artist. In contrast, according to their experience and cognition to the reality, they have vividly presented the characters, temperaments and charms of the deities and masters of the Buddhist realm by genially incorporating their knowledge and imagination, making their artistic works fascinating.
