sera monastery, like other large monastic institutions in central tibet, is organized around regionally-based residential associations. at kongpo khangtsen, which houses monks from tibet's kongpo region, a major benefactor from kongpo sponsored an elaborate set of paintings on the walls of the housing association's temple. completed over the course of three years in the early 1990s. the two images are of interest to me for different reasons. the image at left presents monastic implements and behavior from the vinaya texts that i study for my dissertation, and form a relatively common visual theme in the outer porches of monasteries in tibet. the below image appears as part of the detailed depiction of episodes from the life of lama tsongkhapa, founder of the gelug lineage that sera monastery belongs to. it shows tsongkhapa as a monk directing an artist as he paints an image of the bodhisattva manjushri. lama tsongkhapa was renowned for his visions of manjushri, in which he is said to have receive teachings and personal advice from the bodhisattva.
this episode depicted on kongpo's walls does not appear in the text that the murals otherwise follow, but is an imaginative and powerful statement by the modern artist who created it: a kind of visual argument that the images that appear there come from someone who saw the subjects directly and guided artists in presenting them accurately.
sera monastery, like other large monastic institutions in central tibet, is organized around regionally-based residential associations. at kongpo khangtsen, which houses monks from tibet's kongpo region, a major benefactor from kongpo sponsored an elaborate set of paintings on the walls of the housing association's temple. completed over the course of three years in the early 1990s. the two images are of interest to me for different reasons. the image at left presents monastic implements and behavior from the vinaya texts that i study for my dissertation, and form a relatively common visual theme in the outer porches of monasteries in tibet. the below image appears as part of the detailed depiction of episodes from the life of lama tsongkhapa, founder of the gelug lineage that sera monastery belongs to. it shows tsongkhapa as a monk directing an artist as he paints an image of the bodhisattva manjushri. lama tsongkhapa was renowned for his visions of manjushri, in which he is said to have receive teachings and personal advice from the bodhisattva. 
this episode depicted on kongpo's walls does not appear in the text that the murals otherwise follow, but is an imaginative and powerful statement by the modern artist who created it: a kind of visual argument that the images that appear there come from someone who saw the subjects directly and guided artists in presenting them accurately.
No comments:
Post a Comment