[Leica] IMG: Shakya Senge thangka

[john.nebel at csdco.com (John Nebel)]

http://thangkas.csd.net/shakyasenge.html

Clickable

This thangka is one of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava, the person 
who 
brought Buddhism to Tibet from India in the 9th century.  In this 
manifestation, 
he is a monk, student of Ananda, one of Buddha's disciples, hence there was 
a 
direct connection through Ananda to the original teaching.
Tibetans preserved Buddhist teaching in Tibet through direct teacher-student 
relationships, at least until the 1950s when the Chinese invasion resulted 
in a 
diaspora.

Thangkas were and are a teaching tool and designed to be rolled up and 
easily 
transported by an itinerant monk if the need arose.

Comments and criticism welcome

John