Thangka Buddha Wheel of Life Yama Buddhist Painting Nepal Tibet

$1,250.00

A great depiction of “The Buddhist Wheel of Life” with a ferocious lord Yama. {see copy below} Our Fantastic Thangka is hand painted on canvas, we had it masterfully framed and matted. We used four mats and one is hand painted to match the Thangka’s color. This fantastic old Thangka dates about mid 1900’s. Purchased in Nepal, We have owned it for about 30 years. Painted Image size measures 30” inches long X 22” Wide ~ FRAMED size 40” High X 31” Wide. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Thangka Painting is the name for the scroll-banners seen hanging in every temple monastery and Family shrine in Tibet. They carry painted or embroidered pictures inside a broad, colored border and they can range in size from the page of a book to the facade of an en- tire building. The picture is hand painted, usually made on paper or cotton canvas. Apprentice thangka painters studied under experienced lamas and their works were consecrated before they could be hung. Thangkas were widely used in monastery schools as teachings tools because of their convenient portability. Common folk hung them in homes as protection against evil spirits. At the highest level of religious practice, mystics in a state of meditation would become one with the deity portrayed. SUBJECT ~ Yama “The Wheel of Life” is always painted on a prominent wall near the entrance to the prayer hall. On the outside of the wheel of life is a beast “YAMA Lord of Death” which represents the evil of cling- ing too closely to earthly life. Buddha Sakyamuni preached that people should be more concerned with their eternal life. In the center of the wheel are a snake, a cock, and a pig, which represent the fundamental poisons which result in sorrowful rebirth. These are hatred, desire, and ignorance. Outside of this circle is another circle which shows that if the individual lives a bad life he spirals down the dark path, while if a good life is lived, the light ascending path is taken. The next circle shows the six sorrowful worlds of Lamaism. At the top is the world of the gods in which pleasures earned through previous acquisition of good karma are enjoyed. But this is a temporary place of residence, because existence here leads to decadence and a downward spiral begins. Another world in the top half is the world of the titans, or the non-gods. Residents here Suffer from envy of other creatures. On the other side of the top half is the human world. Buddha’s enlightenment was that life is characterized by suffering, and this root- ed in passions and craving. Scenes show labor, illness, old age, and death. In the world of the beasts the animals suffer from ignorance and apathy. The Pretas, or tortured spirits, suffer from permanent hunger and thirst resulting from their greed. The lowest world is hell, where the residence are punished with fiery heat and icy cold because of their hatred. In each world is an incarnation of Avalokitesvara who carries the cure for the suffering. It is interesting to note that a tree grows in the world of the titans, but the fruit at the top of the tree is in the heaven. This results in war between the gods and non- gods. The circle beyond the six worlds describes the endless chain of death and rebirth. It is only by achieving enlightenment in the human world that one can escape the cycle And join the Buddhas in the western paradise. 

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