Happy Birthday Geneva!

Our friend Geneva's birthday was December 26th and her husband wanted to give her rockets. We ate at a really nice Indian restaurant and talked about it. Geneva likes the Four Friends so I painted the monkey with a rocket. Maybe he is like the Monkey King and can do magic. The elephant and bird and rabbit are surprised. Also I did more of the rocket with mandala. I want to do more of these of the rocket and mandala. I also want to go back to Shalimar with them.

Does Garuda need rockets?

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This is a Garuda painting I painted a few months ago. It's 42x38".  I think i will add some rockets. What you think?

Cumberland Gallery Small Packages Show

These paintings are very small  6 x 4" and tell stories from Bhutan. They are at Cumberland Gallery in Nashville from December 1st to December 24th at the Small Packages Show.

  

The Naga and the Temple

In a peaceful place in the kingdom of Bhutan, a temple sits beside a clear lake. In the lake lives the Naga. The Naga holds a jewel representing the fulfillment of the dreams and wishes of the people. The people of the village bring food to a monk who lives in the temple. The monk prays to the Naga and keeps the lake beautiful and clean so that she will give wealth to the people. The Naga and the temple live in a magical, peaceful place where wishes are granted when the people live in harmony with the lake.

Four faithful friends

All households in Bhutan have a painting of four friends on the wall. This image is seen everywhere in Bhutan. It reminds everyone about the spirit of cooperation. The bird helps the monkey who helps the elephant who passes the fruit to the rabbit and all have fruit from the tree.

The tiger is afraid of the frog

In this Bhutanese story, the tiger asks the frog to pick the lice out of his hair. While he is picking the nits, the frog cleverly picks two tufts of hair from the tiger. He puts one in his mouth and one in his rectum. The tiger asks the frog, “What are you eating? Let me see your teeth.” The frog shows the tiger the fur caught in his teeth and then he has a bowel movement. There is hair in that, as well. “He will eat me now,” thought the tiger, deeply fearful.

Bird figures out how to drink the water

In a Bhutanese fable, the day is sunny and the sky is blue. The bird is searching for water. Suddenly, he finds a jar. He looks in the jar and the water is too low to reach. He tries to think of a way to make the water come up. He has an idea. He put many small stones in the jar and the water rises. He is able to drink the water. The day is beautiful and he is happy.

More Thangka Images

Some Different Thangkas

WHITE MANJUSHRI

Manjushri is the Bodhisattva of Knowledge. Bodhisattva means living Buddha, or an enlightened being that remains in the samsara (the world) to help others attain enlightenment.

Manjushri holds the stem of a precious lotus in his left hand. Inside the lotus, a book symbolizes the acquisition of knowledge. A flaming sword above the book cuts through ignorance. This piece is 60 x 42" and was made for a temple in Bhutan and is more elaborate than one that might be found in a home, although almost every home in Bhutan has a temple or prayer room. If you have a strong feeling about any of the Buddhas, (Knowledge Buddha, Compassion Buddha, etc.) it means that you have within you the attributes of that particular Buddha, or that meditating upon and trying to strengthen those attributes of the Buddha within you is your path to enlightenment. It is painted with pigment, minerals and gold.

AMITABHA

Buddha Amitabha is the Buddha of Long Life and is here with his disciples Chenrezig and Vajrapani. Thangkas are tools for meditation in the Tantric Buddhist tradition. If a practitioner gazes at the image as he or she meditates, then the attributes of the Bodhisattva will be more easily grasped and possibly attained. 

CHENREZIG WITH FOUR ARMS (COMPASSION BUDDHA)

Chenrezig is the Compassion Buddha. The Dalai Lama is the incarnation of Chenrezig. He is considered the patron Bodhisattva of Tibet, and his meditation is practiced in all the great lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. Two hands hold a blue norbu (precious jewel), one hands holds prayer beads and another holds the precious lotus flower. You see the Compassion Buddha in Japan also and it is female.

GURU RINPOCHE

This is Guru Rinpoche who is also called Padmasambhava or "Precious Teacher." He brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th Century. 

FOUR FAITHFUL FRIENDS

This image is painted on walls of temples and buildings all over Bhutan. The Four Friends is a parable told by the Buddha. It shows how cooperation and friendship helps us survive. The elephant helps the monkey who helps the rabbit who helps the bird to get the berry from the tree. I hope they share the food. It is also a story about respecting those who are older than you. 

SHAKYAMUNI WITH ATTENDANTS

Shakyamuni is the original Buddha, otherwise known as Gautama Buddha or Sangay Buddha. Here, he is flanked by two attendant monks and two khandroma or dakini, emanations of enlightened mind. Behind him is the Bodhi tree, under which he attained enlightenment.

Most every household in Bhutan has a temple room and so a thangka such as this one would be placed there. It would be rolled or put away and saved, to be brought out and hung for festival days, ceremonies or other special occasions. The more precisely and beautifully the painter paints an image for a thangka then the more merit he and his patron accrue. So the painter and the owner of the thangka both acquire good karma. The more the image is viewed then the more “power” it gains. The silk scroll frame is the traditional way thankas are framed in Tibet, Bhutan, India and Nepal. That way, the thanka can be rolled for storage and unrolled for ceremonies.The word thanka means “rolled art”.

Aldra's Chana Dorji

CHANA DORJI

 Chana Dorji is a powerful protector and his image is seen in temples throughout Bhutan.

The Bodhisattva Chana Dorji transforms wrathful energy (hate, anger) into wisdom and perfection. Power is a vehicle for enlightenment in the Tantric tradition, so meditating upon the visage of Chana Dorji is appropriate. Chana Dorji gives his devotees strength and protection from dangerous forces. He holds a dorji, or five-pronged vajra in his right hand, and his left hand he holds to his chest in the virtaka mudra (hand gesture) of reasoning, argumentation or explanation of teachings. He is surrounded, like all wrathful Bodhisattvas, with flames of wisdom. A naga, or snake spirit of the earth, is draped around his neck.

More Chana Dorji

Chana Dorji is almost finished.