Thangka

Thang-kas are essentially aids for meditation, though they may be hung in temples or at family altars, carried in religious processions, or used to illustrate sermons. Thang-kas are not free creations of art, in the Western sense, but are painted according to exact canonical rules. In their subject matter they provide a wealth of understanding of the Tibetan religion. They commonly depict the Buddha, surrounded by deities or lamas and scenes from his life; divinities assembled along the branches of a cosmic tree; the wheel of life (Sanskrit bhava-cakra), showing the different worlds of rebirth; the symbolic visions thought to occur during the intermediate state (Bar-do) between death and rebirth; maṇḍalas, symbolic representations of the universe; horoscopes; and Dalai and Paṇchen lamas, saints, and great teachers, such as the 84 mahāsiddhas (“great perfect ones”).