So, let me start by telling a bit about myself and how I arrived at the "Centre for Living Buddhist Art" and take you on a journey with me, talking about the painting above (Path of Enlightenment).
Hi guys, my name is Dev Vikram Upaadhyay I am a student (19 years old) and looking for college admissions. My main area of interest is the Folk or Tribals arts of India. So far, I have learned Gond, Madhubani, and Pattachitra but let me tell you that, I still intend to learn these arts in a proper manner. I had only taken a few workshops which do not truly reveal what the art is all about and what it teaches us through all these beautiful depictions of Nature, Animals, Humans, and some such as Thangka teach us through Deities (God & Goddesses) in form of Drawing and Paintings.
However, we shall know more about these art forms in other blog entries but now, let’s explore the Beautiful work of Thangka and "Teachings of Buddha". It’s been a total of two months here for me and I have started to feel that I have made the right decision of joining “Centre for Living Buddhist Art”. As in a typical old-school India Family, the parents want the kids to get mature fast and Start learning their Business. However, from a very young age I was into Art, Golf, Wildlife Photography, and Cooking (Mostly, Indian at the start but I learned a little bit from every culture).
So around a few months back I was doing exactly the same, working day and night and putting all my time into our family business learning from my father and other professionals, and to be really honest I was really enjoying it. But, as I was supposed to go to college I decided to not prioritize the business and reflect on my choices and do what’s right for my life and career. And so, I came to the “Center for Living Buddhist Art” and the Teacher (Mrs. Sarika Singh) and Master (Master Locho) are very warm and loving people and have treated me like nothing but Family; I would like to talk to you about a little bit about the Campus, it is situated a little outside of Dharamshala City and at a very beautiful and scenic location, which helps your mind to be at peace and calm. It helps you to get away, from all the distractions of the world. Where you can sit and calmly do your drawing and painting with full focus.
Now, let’s dive into what my course looks like. So, I am here to properly learn and understand the meaning of Thangka Art, and to do that we shall start at the very beginning of my course, I made my first Buddha Face with a Grid provided along with the face for the utmost precision. When we are making a deity and drawing him on paper or a canvas we bring him to life and ask him for help in making him and the next sketch or painting better than the last, bringing more refinement into our Drawings. Thangka is a very meditative, calm, and focused needed art practice. The journey of a new artist is very slow so that he/she is able to understand the concept of making and which, also helps them become a better human being (Here, I am talking about the Journey, not the skills you require to make the art).
Let’s start by talking about the significance of the above drawing, which is believed to directly descend from Buddha himself. This drawing has been passed on from generation to generation, from master to student; The First Lesson in the teachings of Buddha is the control over your mind and getting over all the worldly distractions and making the journey of self-control, and freeing your mind of ignorance to reach the point of “Bliss”. Let me start by explaining the “Diagram of Shamatha Meditation” or “Path of Enlightenment”. “Shamatha Meditation”, is a practice that develops the ability to help the mind to attain perfect concentration or equipoise. It is also essential for the development of “Vipashyana” or analytical insight.
To quote from the Book “The Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs”, by Robert Beer “The Tibetan Word of Shamatha meditation means Calm or dwelling in peace.” The ideal way of performing Shamatha Mediation requires of you to meditate in a secluded space. While, adopting the “Seven point meditation posture of Vairochana”, with the legs crossed in “Vajrasana”, the spine straight, right hand resting lightly on the left palm in the “Dhyana Mudra” of meditative absorption, neck slightly bent, eyes focused along the line of the nose, mouth relaxed and the tongue held lightly against the upper plate.
Explaining the “Path of Enlightenment”; At the start of the path, one can see a monk who is chasing, binding, leading, and subduing an elephant which we see is going from the color black to white, showing the gradual process of getting control of the mind. The monkey in the path represents the distractions and the mental agitation, and the monkey’s black color represents our “Scattering”. The Rabbit or Hare represents calm and steadiness. As the monk holds the Goad and Lasso shows a clear understanding and mindful recollection. While moving up the path we can see a diminishing fire on intervals which shows the decreasing efforts to achieve understanding and recollection. The five sense objects shown in the path are cloth, fruits, perfume, cymbals, and a mirror depicting the five sensual sources of distraction.
At, the end of the path single-pointed concentration of full focus is achieved, and the purified elephant of the mind is completely submissive. The flying monk represents bodily bliss, and the flying of the elephant which is now submissive depicts mental bliss. Riding of the elephant, wielding of the flaming sword of perfect insight having attained the flame of clear understanding and mindfulness, represents the uprooting of samsara by the unity of “Shamatha” and “Vipashyana” which directly realizes emptiness (Shunyata).
Getting a clear understanding with peace and calm. I can now say that my journey on the “Path of Enlightenment” has already begun. I can clearly state that I am still in the middle of all the distractions and will sail through to become a better human being. Here, at “Center for Living Buddhist” I am getting nurtured and learning a variety of new ways to become a better human being every day. Also, the everyday Art practices are very meditative and peaceful and I feel, the Center for the Living Buddhist Art will not only make me understand the beauty of “Thangka Art”, but also how to become a better Human Being. So, for all those who have read my blog till the end, it is a sincere request from me to please check out “Center for Living Buddhist Art”.
Citations:
Beer, R. (1996). Diagram of Shamatha Meditation Practice or 'Tranquil Abiding'. In R. Beer (Ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (pp. 99–99). essay, Serindia Publications London .
nice blog!