About This Article Chapter 7 Black Thangka, Red Lotus and Terma
About the various aspects and history of Black Thangka.
Black thangka is based on black, outlined with pure gold, and embellished with a small amount of color or symbolic halo to reveal the main structure and light and dark of the characters and scenery. The meaning is mysterious and deep. This is the Tibetan Buddhist art that is in the same line as the painted thangka.
, and a self-contained painting form - black thangka, called "natang" in Tibetan. Black thangka art plays an important role in the Tibetan Buddhist tantric culture.
Produced under the connotation of teachings and rituals, it is a great creation of Tibetan Buddhist cultural thought, embodying the wisdom of countless generations of eminent monks and folk craftsmen. This unique form of artistic expression, with its strong regional characteristics and mysterious religious connotations,
With its simple national sentiments and profound humanistic spirit, black thangkas have also become the best treasures supported and treasured by eminent monks, bachelors and celebrities.
The main reason for the black thangka is the Tibetan people's preference for black, which originates from the Bon belief developed from the ancient primitive religion. The Bon religion is commonly known as the "Black Religion" because the Bon believers like to have long hair and beautiful bodies.
Named after wearing black clothes. Judging from its teachings and laws, this custom of worshiping black has a very long history. It is reflected in the concept of black and white dualism in the Bon creation theory and the profound philosophy it symbolizes. Later, Tibetan Buddhism
Tantra is popular in Tibet, absorbing a large amount of the teaching content of the local primitive religion and Bon religion, and various Tibetan Buddhist art forms that adapt to it have emerged. Black itself has the visual characteristics of ferocity, violence, majesty, darkness, mystery, etc.
Aesthetic qualities and color symbolic connotations. Therefore, black thangka is extremely suitable for expressing the unpredictable artistic conception of tantric gods. Using black as the base becomes the qualitative expression of black thangka.
Black thangka art has also developed the use of gold to the extreme. The Tibetan people's love for gold originates from the worship of the sun god in the three realms of the Buddhist universe. It is the pursuit of the light of nature and symbolizes the pursuit of all life in the world.
The source of yearning, and at the same time the golden color
It represents treasures and wealth. Therefore, gold is regarded as the most sacred way to worship gods and Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, and many techniques using gold have been created in long-term artistic practice, such as the outline commonly used in Thangkas.
Gold, gold coating, gold grinding, gold engraving, gold dyeing, etc.
Black thangkas are best at expressing the wrathful bodies of Tibetan Tantric gods with exaggerated dynamics, angry expressions, and mighty demeanors. Most of them were transformed from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to protect Buddhism from foreign enemies, or to target those who interfered with the practice of Dharma.
The deterrence and harm of evil views and evil thoughts called "ignorance"
Warning. The images of these gods have many characteristics such as primitive and simple, mighty and powerful, mysterious and profound, so that they can achieve the purpose of spreading the doctrine, protecting Buddhism and maintaining the divine power with strong deterrence. Therefore, the black thangka has become a Tibetan traditional
A solemn instrument essential for idol worship in Buddhist art.
In Tibetan Buddhist art, the depiction of the main gods and Buddhas in murals and thangkas must be based on the provisions of the "Three Sutras and One Essay" such as the "Buddha Statue Measurement Sutra" to represent different religious symbolic connotations. As explained in
The color of Kamuni's body is flesh-red.
The flashing Buddha is dark blue, the Baosheng Buddha is gold, the Great Compassion Guanyin is white, etc. The coloring method of the black thangka is a unique one in the painting world. In compliance with the principle of measuring the sutra of the statue, it creates a line-based color with colorful touches.
Part of the drawing techniques, written unexpectedly
Stop. This technique further strengthens and highlights the power, strength, solemnity and mystery of the gods in Tibetan Buddhism. For example, the flame coloring method in the black thangka only slightly smudges the end of the flame, giving the charm of dancing flames.
It's much better to paint it instantly than to paint it all over the body
The method of applying red color. At the same time, this expression method of cherishing color like gold and retaining a lot of black background in the picture is exactly the same as the expression method of using white to draw ink and replacing reality with virtuality in Chinese landscape paintings, which further strengthens the depth of black thangka.
Ethereal and mysterious religious connotation.
Black Thangka art was produced under the connotation of the teachings and rituals of Tibetan Buddhism Tantra culture. It is a great wisdom creation of Tibetan Buddhism cultural thought, embodying the wisdom of countless generations of eminent monks and folk craftsmen. This unique artistic expression
With its strong regional characteristics, mysterious religious connotations, simple national sentiments and profound humanistic spirit, the style has been widely spread in the Tibetan Buddhist cultural circle. Black thangkas have also become the best treasures supported and collected by eminent monks, bachelors and celebrities.
As for red lotus karma fire, red lotus, hell:
(World name) The seventh of the eight cold hells. The Sanskrit name is Padma, which is translated as red lotus. Due to the cold, the skin and flesh split like a red lotus flower. The fourth treatise on yoga says: "The red lotus Naraka is different from this.
This green is already
, the color turns red, and the skin splits, maybe ten or more. Therefore, this Naluka is called the red lotus." The eleventh chapter of the Kusheguang Chronicle says: "Botmo, this cloud is a red lotus. The severe cold is severe, and the body changes.
Broken like a red lotus flower."
Karmic fire, for example) Bad karma harms the body, such as fire. It is also called the fire that burns sinners in hell. The latter is caused by the bad karma in the previous life. Surangama Sutra 8 says: "The fire of karma dries up."
Fu Zang refers to the classics that Bon and Tibetan Buddhists hid when their religions suffered disasters and then re-excavated them in the future. They are divided into book collections, sacred object collections and knowledge collections. Book collections refer to scriptures and holy books.
Object storage refers to magical objects, relics of eminent monks and great virtues, etc. The most magical thing is the knowledge storage, which is said to be some kind of classic
Or when a disaster occurs and the mantra cannot be passed down, it is given by the gods and hidden deep in someone's consciousness to prevent it from being lost. When conditions are met for re-transmission, under some mysterious revelation, the person who is given the mantra to store the mantra is
People (some are illiterate farmers and herdsmen) can recite or record it in writing. This phenomenon is the mystery of the terma.
Rap Artist is a famous Tibetan long heroic epic. From its original prototype to today, there are more than a hundred parts in total, which can be said to be a long epic. It is spread among the people in two forms, one is oral rap form, the other is in the form of manuscripts and engravings. Oral
Rap is its main form and is passed down from generation to generation through the troubadours of rap artists, who have various legends.
Among the many rap artists, those outstanding artists who can rap many parts often call themselves "divine artists", that is, the stories they rap are given by gods. "God-given rappers" often claim to have had dreams in childhood, and then
I was sick, and received the will of God or King Gesar in my dream. During the illness or after recovering from the illness, I chanted sutras and prayed to the lama, which opened the door of wisdom to sing Gesar, and I could sing from then on.
In Tibetan areas, some teenage illiterate children can sing long epics of millions of words after falling ill or waking up. This mysterious phenomenon remains unexplained.
It is said that more than 100 years ago, Master Padmasambhava went to Tibet to promote Buddhism. He found that the knowledge of the Tibetans at that time could not accept the esoteric Dharma, and because the causes and conditions of some dharma were not mature at that time, he transferred many teachings and Buddha statues to Tibet before leaving Tibet.
Hidden medicine
In different fields. Some of them are in waterfalls, some in mountains and rocks, some in the void, and some even in the deep meditation of saints. These things are waiting for the time to mature in the future for those who are destined and achievers.
It starts spreading, so it is called "terma".
Termas are divided into book collections, holy relic collections and knowledge collections. Book collections refer to scriptures, and holy relic collections refer to magical implements, relics of eminent monks, etc.
The most miraculous thing is knowledge storage. It is said that when a certain classic or mantra cannot be passed down in the face of disaster, it will be hidden deep in someone's consciousness by the gods to prevent it from being lost. When there are conditions for re-transmission, in a certain person
Under this mysterious revelation, the people who were taught to store the scriptures (some were illiterate farmers and herdsmen) were able to recite or record them in writing.
From the time of Master Padmasambhava more than 1,000 years ago to the present, in this long history of Tibetan Buddhism, the fact of terma has continuously appeared in front of people.
Geshe Lobsang, the first Han Chinese lama to obtain a Geshe degree, recorded the saying of "recognizing Tibet" in "Records of Seeking Dharma in the Snowy Land". In the Zhayeba Monastery near Lazi, Houzang, the most famous Tibetan Buddhist temple is
You can find classics in the temples, Samye Temple and Qingpu monastery.
The oldest indigenous religion in Tibet, "Bon", had a history of "terma" under the impact of Tibetan Buddhism. Historically, the Bon religion failed in the debate and was ordered to do so by Trisong Detsen, who believed in Buddhism.
Banned. Bon believers did not dare to carry out public activities. They buried Bon classics everywhere, and these classics formed the "terma" of Bon religion. In the 9th century, when Langdama exterminated Buddhism, Buddhist believers also began to "treasure".
Later, the Nyingma sect said that the scriptures were unearthed in a certain place. The person who retrieved the treasures was called "Dedenpa". According to legend, they were all incarnations of Master Padmasambhava and his disciples, and they successfully reconstructed the treasure scriptures.
And accurately interpret the theories and methods of terma scriptures, the most famous ones are "Qian Zangdu Sutra of the Dead", "Dzogchen", etc.
The theory of alternative terma
Buddhist scriptures introduce alternative methods of discovering terma without relying on treasure maps.
The first is to become a Buddha. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have magical powers. Not only can they see any hidden treasure of anyone, but they can also make the hidden treasures come out from under the ground. For example, "The Genealogy of Sakyamuni's Birth and Seed Becoming a Buddha" records that when the Buddha was born
At that time, five hundred treasures came out at the same time; "Amitabha Sutra" records that when Manjushri Bodhisattva was born, seven treasures came out at the same time.
The second is to worship Buddha. If you think it is too difficult to become a Buddha, you can also worship Buddha. For example, "A Brief Record of Induction of the Three Jewels" records that there was a poor man in ancient India who wanted to dig up the treasures left by his ancestors. He didn't know the specific location, so he went to the temple to pray.
After walking around the Buddha statue a few times, I found the terma when I returned.
The third is to recite mantras. If you find it too troublesome to worship Buddha, you can also recite mantras. The first volume of the "Buddha's Heart Sutra" contains the "Tathagata of the Ten Directions Same Seal and Top Mantra". You only need to cross your hands, extend your middle finger, and recite "Om, Bara, Bara, and Raoji"
By saying "Balaoji, Bahla", you can look through the ground and see all the treasures within a radius of five miles. "Big Buddha"
There is also a mantra in Volume 2 of the Dingguangju Dharani Sutra, which says to mash lotus seeds, borneol, bezoar and tulips, mix them with milk to make a paste, apply it on the forehead, and recite "Om Amougamo Nishikaluo"
If you repeat "Bo Tou Mou Se Ni Sha Di Li Qi Sha Sha Sha Ke He" 1,800 times, you can see all the treasures in the world.
What exactly does terma refer to?
Among various Buddhist classics, one of them is preserved and retrieved in a special form, which is called a terma. In addition to a small box containing various secret books and sutra codes, a terma contains
Generally, there are also sacred objects such as Buddhist statues and ritual implements. Many people in society and even scientists are unable to explain this mysterious phenomenon, and even some Buddhists do not understand the concept of terma.
The terma collection is very rich in content, including practices, Buddha statues, nectar, etc. It is really comprehensive, but the most important thing is the Buddhist scriptures. Part of the Buddhist scriptures is the content of the initiation, part is the practice related to the initiation, and some is the ritual ritual.
track, and there are also a series of other specific practices from forward practice to main practice. (To be continued)