Tshogs Zhing a Wall Painting in the New ’Du Khang of Spituk (DPe-thub) - PDF

7/25/2019 Tshogs Zhing a Wall Painting in the New Du Khang of Spituk (DPe-thub) - PDF

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This is a digital offfprint for restricted use only | 2014 Koninklijke Brill NV

Art and Architecture in Ladakh

Cross-Cultural Transmissions inthe Himalayas and Karakoram

Edited by

Erberto Lo Bue and John Bray

|


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Contents

List of Contributors viiList of Illustrations xii

Introduction 1

Erberto Lo Bue and John Bray

1 Ancient Petroglyphs of Ladakh: New Discoveries and

Documentation 15

Tashi Ldawa Thsangspa

2 Embedded in StoneEarly Buddhist Rock Art of Ladakh 35Phuntsog Dorjay

3 Historic Ruins in the Gya Valley, Eastern Ladakh, and a

Consideration of Their Relationship to the History of Ladakh

and Maryul

With an Appendix on the War of Tsede (rTse lde) of Guge in 1083 CE

by Philip Denwood 68

Neil and Kath Howard

4 An Archaeological Account of Ten Ancient Painted Chortens in Ladakh

and Zanskar 100

Quentin Devers, Laurianne Bruneau and Martin Vernier

5 The Chorten (mChod rten) with the Secret Chamber near

Nyarma 141

Gerald Kozicz

6 The Dating of the Sumtsek Temple at Alchi 159

Philip Denwood

7 The Iconography and the Historical Context of the Drinking Scene in the

Dukhang at Alchi, Ladakh 167

Marjo Alafouzo

8 The Wood Carvings of Lachuse. A Hidden Jewel of Early Mediaeval

Ladakhi Art 191

Heinrich Poell

9 The mGon khang of dPe thub (Spituk): A Rare Example of 15th Century

Tibetan Painting from Ladakh 226

Chiara Bellini

10 Chigtan Castle and Mosque: A Preliminary Historical and ArchitecturalAnalysis 254

Kacho Mumtaz Ali Khan, John Bray, Quentin Devers

and Martin Vernier


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11 Lamayuru (Ladakh)Chenrezik Lhakang: TheBar Do Thos Grol

Illustrated as a Mural Painting 274

Kristin Blancke

12 The Lost Paintings of Kesar 298John Bray

13 Tshogs zhing: a Wall Painting in the New Du khang of Spituk

(dPe thub) 314

Filippo Lunardo

14 From Benaras to LehThe Trade and Use of Silk-brocade 329

Monisha Ahmed

15 Conservation of Leh Old TownConcepts and Challenges 348

Andr Alexander and Andreas Catanese16 Revealing Traditions in Earthen Architecture: Analysis of Earthen

Building Material and Traditional Constructions in the Western

Himalayas 364

Hubert Feiglstorfer

17 Conservation of Architectural Heritage in Ladakh 388

John Harrison

Bibliography 400

Index 428


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Tshogs zhing: A Wall Painting in the New

Du khang of Spituk (dPe thub)

Filippo Lunardo

Introduction

Tshogs zhingis a compound consisting of the termstshogs: assembly, mass,group, or verbs such as to gather, to collect, etc.; and zhing, eld in the

sense, for example, of a farmers eld (Yablonsky 2000:4950). Within specicinstruction and liturgy literatures, both tantric and exoteric, this compoundrefers to the visualization of gurus conceived as a complex spiritual eld. Bymeans of such visualization, the meditator receives from the assembly of mas-ters and deities the blessings, inspiration and transformative energy necessaryfor the accumulation of spiritual merit and for the destruction of negativityand obstacles, aimed at obtaining the goal set by the instruction that is putinto practice.

The Tshogs zhing, basically dened as eld of the accumulation of merit,envisages the visualization of a root guru, the one from whom the lineage orreligious order has sprung, as its main gure, considered as fully divine. Allaround this gure there are the lineage holding masters, and masters associated

with specic experiential practices which are in any case related to the lineage.Besides these groups of gures are found diffferent classes of deities, rangingfrom the mainyi damof theanuttarayogatantracycle down to the divinities oflesser spiritual level considered to be the protectors of the Buddhist religion ingeneral and in particular of the path of the spiritual practitioner. All the gures

of the tshogs zhing, always considered as emanations of the rootguru, are visu-alized as positioned on a wish-fullling tree that functions as an axis mundi

whose various parts symbolize diffferent experiences of the Buddhist Dharma.

In the dGe lugs pa order of Tibetan Buddhism, the literature that describes the visualizationoftshogs zhingin relation to tantric instructions is that of thebla ma mchod pa, which is

essentially linked to the liturgy that revolves around devotion to theguru. On the other hand

the tshogs zhinglinked to instructions unrelated to initiations is that which is prescribed

especially in lam rimliterature, the gradual path to awakening.


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The tshogs zhing Tradition within the dGe lugs pa Order

Within the dGe lugs pa order there are three traditions relating to the visual-

ization of the eld of the accumulation of merit. According to the rst, the rootguruis visualized in the likeness of the Buddha kyamuni. In this traditionhe represents every type of master and deity, and thus comes to be visualizedalone and not surrounded by any other gure.

In the tradition stemming from the lam rimtradition the visualization ofthe eld of accumulation of merit is arranged around the gure of the guru

visualized as the Buddha kyamuni, though surrounded by lamas and deities.This type of tshogs zhing is called khrom tshogs.

In the tradition stemming from tantric and exoteric liturgy and practicesconnected to thegurudevotion, that is to say thebla ma mchod patradition,the tshogs zhinghas the founder of the dGe lugs pa order itself, Tsong kha pa,as its principal gure. Tsong kha pa appears as an emanation called Bla ma Blobzang rdo rje chang, surrounded by masters and deities. Such type of tshogs

zhinggoes by the name ofmtho brtsegs.In the lam rim andbla ma mchod pa literature, the visualization of the

tshogs zhingbelongs to the so-called preliminary practices,sngon gro, despitethe fact that the meditator continues with them throughout the whole courseof his or her practice.

In the lam rim tradition the visualization of the eld of accumulation ofmerit belongs to the fourth of six preliminary practices known as sbyor chos(Dalai Lama 1991:22, 2839.), whereas, in the case of the bla ma mchod pa, the

visualization of the tshogs zhing(Panchen Lama 2003:59; Dalai Lama 1996:76111; Pabongka Rinpoche 1997:157161, 768/769) follows the literature of the tak-ing of refuge, the tantric practice of the practitioners self-generation in theform of a yi dam, usually two-armed Vajrabhairava, and the blessing of offfer-

ings that are considered to be derived from the union of bliss and emptiness.

The Artistic Tradition

Both in relation to lam riminstructions and to those of thebla ma mchod pa,the iconographic codication of the visualization of the tshogs zhing is struc-tured around the wish-fullling tree. This functions as the actual vertical axis

of the entire image. According to the instructions found in the relevant lit-erature, both the Buddha and Tsong kha pa should be depicted seated at the

sbyor bai chos drug.


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centre of the tree, but in fact this only occurs in the oldest images, or at leastin those which refer back to the earlier textual sources (Figure 13.1). In efffect,by the beginning of the nineteenth century the two gures come mostly to be

represented above the tree (Figure 13.2).To the right of the principal gure, there is a representation of theBodhisattva Maitreya along with the masters and lamas linked to instructionsrelated to the bodhisattva ethics as this has been handed down from the Indian

Yogcra philosophical school. To the left, by contrast, we nd a representationof Majur along with the masters and lamas connected with the philosophi-cal vision of the Madhyamaka school. Directly above the head of the rootguru

we nd Vajradhra along with the masters holders of the tantric practices.

These three groups of gures are not represented within the bounds of thetree, but in the area of the sky around.Below the headguru, subdivided into eleven iconographic groups arranged

on eleven strata of an enormous lotus (which as a matter of fact masks thewhole gure of the tree) there are various classes of deities: theyi damof the

four classes of the tantric cycles, Buddhas, bodhisattvas,pratyekabuddhas,

In relation to the images relative to the bla ma mchod pa tradition, these have undergoneiconographic and compositional evolution in the course of time, such that they reect the

same evolution undergone in the bla ma mchod paliterature itself. The practices ofbla ma

mchod pa derive from the oral instructions dened as essential, man ngag, and later codied

in a specic literature specically linked to a literary eld better known as guruyoga. Bla

ma mchod paliterature has undergone important change and evolution over the centuries,

above all in regard to the explanations and methods of practice, but leaving the philosophic

and spiritual vision unchanged. This sheds light on the fact that a living tradition maintains

itself thanks to its own internal change, linked to the personal experience of the masters

andyogins within the lineage who practice or realize the instructions to then be transmitteddirectly on to their disciples. In the course of our studies we have been able to identify at least

three chronological phases into which to classify three diffferent phases of tshogs zhing. Just

as in the texts the images show changes in the form of various elements of greater or lesser

importance, it has been noted that the rst representations appear some centuries after the

text to which they refer. The most ancient tshogs zhingrelated to thebla ma mchod pacan

be dated to the end of the 18th century or beginning of the 19th century. The gure of Tsong

kha pa comes to be represented precisely at the centre of the composition, thus within the

bounds of the wish fullling tree. However, we do not see any structural order for the repre-

sentation of the various masters and surrounding the rootguru. Such an order codied at thebeginning of the second iconographic phase relative to the 19th century, tends to represent

and identify a distribution of the various gures according to a spiritual hierarchy. However,

this will be better explained in a forthcoming work.

Anuttara, yoga, caryandkriytantra.


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. Thetshogs zhings oldest iconography, late 18th century/early 19th century.


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. 19th century tshogs zhing,Courtesy of Renzo Freschi Oriental Art.


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. 19th centurytshogs zhing,Courtesy of Renzo Freschi Oriental Art.


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arhats, kas and kins, the dharmaplas and, usually, but not always, out-side the tree, the guardians of the four directions (Jackson 2005:1011).

Underneath the tree, which is represented as springing from an ocean of

special waters (Dalai Lama 1996:80), there are the symbols of the treasure ofthe universal monarch, of the universe with the cosmic Mount Sumeru at thecentre of the four continents and eight subcontinentsbased on the cosmo-logical conception of Vasubandhus Abhidharmakoa (Brauen 1997:1821)and of a haloed monk (Jackson 1996:236241; Linrothe 2001:30), alone or withother monks and lay devotees, who is represented in the act of the maalaofffering (Figure 13.3).

A Wall Picture in the New spyi khangof Spituk Monastery

(dPe thub) in Ladakh

During some of our research in Ladakh, carried out since 2006, we have beenable to document an important evolution of the tshogs zhingiconographicthemes connected to the bla ma mchod pa liturgy in the newspyi khang ofSpituk monastery (Thub bstan dpal ldan 1990:112116; Snellgrove and Skorupski1977:109).

First of all, the eld of accumulation of merit is not depicted on a thang kabut on a wall, which is an unusual example according to our documentationfor these images. The picture is painted on the main wall opposite the entranceto the hall. The image is not covered, in contrast to the thang kas which, if theyare not on show in the small museums of monasteries, are usually kept coveredaway from the eyes of the uninitiated.

However, the great innovation in the Spituk mural is the fact that it doesnot show at all the wish-fullling tree, which is the vertical axis of the image

and the space where the deities would be positioned. In the spyi khang the

The 14th Dalai Lama explains that it represents an ocean of milk, which symbolism is tied

to the three principal aspects of the Buddhist path. In any case, the water element connects

with the theme of cosmic waters, the container of all that is necessary for life, much beloved

of Indian cosmology.

The representation of this gure immediately recalls a specic iconographic form, related to

a series of representations belonging to the lineage of the Pachen lamas executed at sNar

thang by Tsong kha pas disciple mKhas grub dGe legs dpal bzang po. In the course of thetime, within the dGe lugs pa order, such iconography, though always linked to the presence

of an image of Tsong kha pa, has also been employed to portray in a generic from the category

of practitioners, perhaps even patrons of the tshogs zhingimages themselves, shown while

looking at the eld of merit in a devoted way while carrying offferings.


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vertical structure of the tshogs zhingis exchanged for a structure having threehorizontal registers superimposed on one another where the groups of mas-ters and classes of deities have found their place, arranged surrounding thechief gure of Tsong kha pa, which is in turn immediately surmounted by thatof Vajradhra (Figure 13.4). Thus here the representation of the tree is whollymissing.

As for the commissioning of the image, both the artist who executed themural painting, Tshe ring dbang dus (Lo Bue 2005:365373), as well as severalmonks of the monastery, conrmed that it was the former Bakula rin po cheand his root master who wanted the work to be executed. This was carried outat the time of the building of the spyi khangat the beginning of the 1970s. In

any case, neither the monks nor the artist were able to give an explanation asto the variation in the iconography that is to be seen in the image. Nor werethey able to provide any information as to the existence of written records rela-tive to the wishes of the Bakula rin po chein relation to the mural painting. Ittherefore appears that further investigation is necessary.

Nevertheless, both the artist and the monks have indicated that the imageshows the visualization of the eld of merit in line with the spyor chosrelated tothe lam rimtradition. In this way it constitutes an interesting evolution within

Wewould like to use the occasion to thank Tshe ring dbang dus for the helping us during our

research, and in particular for the interview given in September 2008.

. Central portion of the Spituk/dPe thub New Du khangtshogs zhing.


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the iconography of such images. In the rst place, the chief gure of the tshogszhing of thespyi khangis that of Tsong kha pa and not that of kyamuni,as would be expected in the lam rimtradition. Moreover, the iconography of

Tshong kha pa here suggests that it follows the bla ma mchod patradition, wherethe root gurutakes the name of Bla ma Blo bzang thub dbang rdo rje chang(Dalai Lama 1996:87/88; Pabongka Rinpoche 1997:188192), even though inthe case of Spituk according to the monks the iconography would not exactlyt that of the bla ma mchod pa, since in the heart of the small Buddha whothis time is positioned within Tsong kha pas heart, the image of Vajradhra ismissing and replaced by the seed syllable h. According to the monks there,this would be due to the fact that the presence of kyamuni instead of the

Buddha Vajradhra within Tsong kha pas heart is a clear indication of spe-cic lam rimpractices (Figure 13.5). However, we need to note here that, linkedto the tradition of Pha bong kha bDe chen snying po (Pabongka Rinpoche1997), the modern texts of the bla ma chod paand thetshogs zhingvisualiza-tion related to these practices always require the presence of kyamuni in theheart of the centralguru, whereas Vajradhra is to be visualized in the heart of

Bla ma indicates that the rootguruhas to be identied with the practitioners ownguru; Blobzang reminds us that in the dGe lugs pas traditionguruhas to be identied with Tsong kha

pa himself; Thub dbang indicates that the practitioners guru, as Tsong kha pa himself, has

the same nature of the Buddha kyamuni when he granted to his disciple instructionsbased

onstras; rDo rje chang indicates that the guru, as Tsong kha pa himself, has the nature of

Vajradhra in giving instructions based on tantras. All those are diffferent emanations of the

same essence: an enlightened mind that appears as kyamuni/Nirmakya in the exposi-

tion of the stras and as Vajradhra/Sambhogakya in the exposition of the tantras. In the

exposition of the entire Dharma, it appears having the aspects of great masters such as Tsong

kha pa and as the practitioners ownguruthat represents in essence all the Buddhas as expres-sions of the wisdom of the Dharmakya. This complex experience is usually represented in

the tshogszhingiconography by the image of Tsong kha pa seated in thevarjaposture, mak-

ing the gesture thevitarkamudrwith his right hand and the dhynamudrwith the left one.

The hands hold two lotuses holding up a sword and a book, emblems of Majur, and a bowl

in the left hand. In the heart of Tsong kha pa, a small kyamuni is represented and, in the

heart of him, Vajradhra with the consort. This visualisation is very important For the bla ma

mchod painstruction, because, according to Pha bong kha bDe chen snying po, Tsong kha

pa and kyamuni at his heart have to be experienced as the samayasattva, together they are

the commitment-being, Vajradhra in the union with his consort, representing the great bliss

wisdom that experiences emptiness, and which has to be experienced as thejnasattva, the

gnosis being, and the hat the heart of this has to be meditated on as thesamdhisattva,

the concentration-being.


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the historical Buddha. Pha bong kha describes various traditions in relationto the visualization of this eld of merit, also indicating that it was actuallyhis root master, the dwags po Blo bzang jam dpal lhun grub (18451919), whounied them into one unique transmission which was handed down by Phabong kha in his teachings. From these the most widespread tshogs zhing oftoday originated. The eld of merit of the spyi khangof Spituk, by way of its

In the bla ma mchod pas literature tradition previous to Pha bong kha bDe chen snying

po, the term thub dbangwas meant to be an adjective understanding Vajradhra:thub

dbangtranslates the Sanskritmunndra, the lord of the sages, a term which can be used

for every Buddha of any time and dimension. The 14th Dalai Lama, expounding on a com-

mentary on thebla ma mchod pa, understands the termthub dbangin the same way asPha bong kha, i.e. indicating the gure of the Buddha kyamuni. In a private communi-

cation in Rome, in the September 2008, the dGa ldan byang rtses dge bshesThub bstan

dar rgyas, explained to us that the meaning of the visualization of Vajradhra in the heart

of kyamuni is that Vajradhra, here thought of as a Sambhogakya experience of the

tenth bhmi, cannot be directly perceived by conventional minds: those minds are able to

directly perceive only an experience generally considered easier to approach and under-

stand. The Nirmakya/kyamuni is the only form of the Sambhogakya experience a

conventional mind can approach, and, once again, theguru, following kyamuni, is the

best embodiment of the Nirmakya a practitioner can relate to. The rootgurusits in the centre of the entire image: below there are the eleven categories

of deities, placed on the tree; at the sides there are the Madhyamaka and Yogcragurus;

below we nd three sub-lineages of the bKa gdams pas and, below those, a group of dGe

lugs pa masters, starting from Tsong kha pa. Above the rootguru there are ve vertical

. Detail of the main gure of thetshogs zhing,Tsong kha pa.


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unusual iconography, may thus represent yet another evolution of this theme,unrecorded in any text, though it seems that the specic image was paintedmore in order to indicate the lam rimpractices than those of thebla ma chod

pa. Further studies are necessary in order to come to a better understandingof this problem.

Analysis of thetshogs zhingIconography of Spituks New

spyi khang

The key gure of the whole imagery, placed at the centre of the mural, depicted

with a greater size in relation to all the other gures, is that of Tsong khapa. All around him, on the central register, feature the four yi damconnectedwith the most important anuttarayogatantra cycles of the dGe lugs pa order.

Directly to thegurus right, we nd Guhyasamja and Vajrabhairava, linked tothe so-called father tantraclasses, while on the left we nd representations ofCakrasavara and Hevajra, linked to the classes of the so-called mother tantra.

Above Tshong kha pas halo, on the upper register, Vajradhra is representedwith his consort in the yab yumform. To his left is thesiddhaTilopa, while to

his right is the siddhaNropa. These three gures together represent the entiretantric lineage of practices and blessings. Apart from Vajradhra, the Buddha

who confers the tantric teachings and who is the one who symbolizes the ulti-mate experience shared by the tantric systems of the gsar matraditions, it isnecessary to note that just as in the bKa brgyud pa orders, Tilopa and Nropaare venerated as the principal tantric masters who connect the dGe lugs paorder to the Indian tantric tradition. Beneath the rootguruthere are three g-ures, all seated. The central gure represents Tsong kha pa himself, howeverthe iconography represented here shows the attributes of the root guru, i.e.

the sword and the book, both held by the lotus whose stem originates from theright hand of the master, and the ask containing the amta, placed in Tsongkha pas left hand which is resting in his lap.

Such iconography represents a special form of the master used for a particu-lar long-lifepj. To the sides of Tsong kha pa we nd his direct disciples: mKhas

rows of diffferent lineages of tantric transmission: the Guhyasamja, Vajrabhairava, dGa

ldan snyan rgyud, the Sixteen Drops of the bKa gdams pas, and Cakrasavara. The rules on proportional symbolism apply here. Furthermore, we need to know that

according to the bla ma mchod pas instructions: all the gures in the eld of merit, repre-

senting masters or deities, ought to be experienced as emanations of the rootguru.

This deity is considered as king of the tantras by the dGe lugs pas.


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grub dGe legs dpal bzang po, on his right, and rGyal tshab Dharma rin chen onthe left. In the dGe lugs pa iconographic tradition such a triad as this tends torepresent as well the main deities of the Mahvairocanbhisabodhitantra,a tantra of the carytantra class. Tshong ka pa represents the BuddhaMahvairocana, while his disciples embody the Bodhisattvas Avalokitevaraand Vajrapi, shown immediately to the sides of the triad. Preceding theBodhisattva Avalokitevara there is an image of a dGe lugs pa master depictedas larger in size to the triad, but nevertheless there are no inscriptions thatpermit his identication.

On the upper register, to the left of the siddha Nropa (Figure 13.6) there isthe Bodhisattva Majughoa, and to his left are depicted the images of ninemasters linked to Ngrjunas Madhyamaka tradition. The last gure on this

register is that of the Bengali master Atia, and below this in the identical posi-tion on the lower register is his direct disciple Brom ston pa.

On the central register, to the left of the yi damHevajra, are found arrangedthe gures of Sarvavid, Mahvairocana, Green Tr, Sarasvat and kyamuni,

while on the lower register, to the left of the Bodhisattva Vajrapi, are foundthe images of the rvakaNanda and that of thearhatBakula, who is recogniz-able because of the image of the mongoose. This is followed by a white ka

who holds a amaru, a khavgaand akapla. This is probably Vajradharma

(Chandra 1991:497), who is then followed by Dharmarja without his consort,and nally the guardians of the directions Vairavaa and Virpka.

Thus far the monks have not been able to help us in the identication of this gure.

. The portion of the tshogs zhingto the proper left of the main, central gure,Tsong kha pa.


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On the other portion of the image, beginning from the upper register to theright of Tilopa (Figure 13.7), there are nine masters of the Yogcra tradition,headed by Asaga and Vasubandhu. Just as in the case of the gure of Bromston pa, also the last master of the Yogcra tradition is depicted as the lastgure on the lower register.

On the central register, beginning from the right of theyi damVajrabhairava,we nd depicted the deities Sittapatr, Vajravidhra, Amityus, Sitatr

and Bhaiajyaguru, whereas on the lower register, starting from the right ofthe Bodhisattva Avalokitevara, there are the representations of the arhatsPanthaka and Agaja, of a ka similar in colour and position to the ka

Vajradharma, but with a kartarin place of theamaru. Then follow the repre-sentations of abhuja Mahkla, Yellow Jambhala, and the two guardians ofthe directions Dhtarra and Virhaka.

Conclusions

The main iconographic elements of the traditional tshogs zhing, basedon the vertical element of the tree, in the depiction of the eld of merit ofthe new spyi khang of Spituk are conrmed by the present investigation.In the tshogs zhing, the spiritual hierarchy of the diverse classes of gures is

generally respected and each class is accordingly distributed in distinct posi-tions within the representation. The chief gure is that of the root guru, posi-tioned in what is truly the fundamental point of the whole image, i.e. thecentre. After that of the root guru, the most important class of gures is that

. The portion of the tshogs zhingto the proper right of the main, central gure,Tsong kha pa.


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of the direct masters and the lineage masters. To them is reserved, as is naturalto their spiritual status, the background sky in the upper register of the mural.The diverse classes of deities, beginning with the yi dams of the anuttarayo-

gatantraup to the guardians of the directions are depicted on the variouspetals (eleven, as a rule) of a great lotus placed on the wish fullling tree.In the tshogs zhingof thespyi khangof Spituk the vertical structure of the

image created by means of the tree is completely absent, and the formulationof the hierarchical division of the various classes of gure seems to be a com-plete innovation. No longer vertical but horizontal, we nd a simple structureon three registers one above the other, with the most important gure, that ofthe rootguru, naturally in the central position.

On the upper register, which is therefore assigned the same symbolic valueas is given to the sky in the vertical tshogs zhing, the area which is the mostimportant in the image, the fundamental tantric masters of the dGe lugs paorder, Tilopa and Nropa, as well as the masters linked to the Madhyamakaand Yogcra philosophical traditions, are depicted. In the central register,

we nd the deities connected with all the four diffferent classes of tantra, as isthe image of the historical Buddha who comes to represent the entire class ofBuddhas or the 35 Buddhas of the confession. Finally, in the lower register, wend representations of classes of bodhisattvas, of thepratyekabuddhas and ofthe arhats, as well as those of the protectors and guardians.

It is certainly true that in comparison to the gures of the vertical tshogszhings, the representations mentioned above at Spituk are far fewer in num-ber, but this comes as a result of a deliberate choice such as having Tilopa andNropa selected to represent the whole group of siddhas and tantric mastersin general. The most beloved masters and the most important deities for thepractices adopted by the dGe lugs pa order are here taken up to symbolize

whole classes of masters and deities.

In any case, we can take note of the fact that in the images in Spituk, com-pared to modern renderings of vertical tshogs zhingwhich come from the Phabong kha transmission, the gure of Hevajra is chosen and placed in the loca-tion usually preferred for representing the tantric system of the sixteen dropsof the bKa gdams pa. The only representation belonging to Atias traditionis the image of the Bengali master and of his direct disciple, while in modern

vertical tshogs zhingthe bKa gdams pa order is depicted through a number of

The classes of the deities that are represented are: the yi dams of the cycles of the four

tantric classes, the class of the Buddhas, those of the bodhisattvas, kas and kins, of

pratyekabuddhas and arhats, of the protectors of the Dharma and those of the guardians

of the direction.


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important gures divided into four sub-lineages and placed in the sky to theside of the rootguru. One of these sub-lineages represents the actual lineage ofthe sixteen drops, portrayed in place of theHevajratantratransmission.

The tshogs zhingof Spituk is important because it reects a modern devel-opment of an iconography that has never really been rmly established. Suchan image lends support in demonstrating that over the centuries, a traditionmaintains its vitality when it reects the experience of masters and practitio-ners. This in the end represents a direct agent in the evolution of literature andtexts relative to the tradition itself.

It is precisely for this reason that it would be interesting to know the reasonwhy Bakula rin po chewanted such an image in such a position, and why he

commissioned the depiction of particular gures to represent entire spiritualclasses.Until similar images in other areas of Tibetan culture are either discovered

or described, we can affrm that the tshogs zhing of the newspyi khang ofSpituk represents a distinct form of the experience of Buddhist Ladakh, andunderlines the freshness and brightness of a tradition that is constantly renew-ing itself.

This will be the topic of a work in preparation.

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Tshogs Zhing a Wall Painting in the New ’Du Khang of Spituk (DPe-thub) - PDF