It was kismet to find this exquisite White Tara, a gift for my good friend on her 30th birthday, on Ritual Thanka's Etsy. They have so many practice-quality paintings created by true craftsmen, and the purchasing process is easy.
When I called Ritual's contact number to ask a question, their sales manager answered and took action to help even though it wasn't his normal job. (Thanks, Rajendra!)
They also sent me a brief personal video showing the packed thangka ready for shipping, and got it out the door quickly -- in the face of the covid pandemic, no less.
You can feel safe supporting Nepalese artists by purchasing from Ritual Thanka.
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DAC
Arya Manjushree
Buddhism is the path, which leads to happiness by cleansing one's mind of all the impurities. It basically helps to develop two things: Compassion and Wisdom. These two are the basic true nature of the awakened mind. The ultimate manifestation of Buddha’s Wisdom is Arya Manjushri. Manjushri is also known as Jambeyang in Tibetan, Wen-shu in Chinese, and Monju Bosatsu in Japan.
This beautiful Painting of Arya Manjushri was completed by master Artist Mr. Man Bdr. Tamang in late November 2016. This beautiful Painting of the “Lord of wisdom” is seen gracefully seated in vajra-posture upon a moon disc, on top of a lotus throne. He is golden-orange in color and is adorned with all the jewel ornaments of a Boddhisattva. He wears the five jeweled crown over his head, representing the five DhyaniBuddhas. Ornate golden bracelets add to his royalness along with intricately designed armlets and anklets. He is also wearing circular-shaped jeweled earrings and two jeweled necklaces held together with beads around his neck. His body is covered with magically flowing silk Garments which have been flawlessly decorated with elegant designs of flower petals. The yellow-colored shining decorative flower designs over the skirt are simply outstanding. All of these designs along with all the other bright yellow elements emitting reddish gleam are pure 24karat Gold. The artist has used his skills to the fullest while applying the gold. This same Goldwork is also used to manifest the light rays emanating from the body of the youthful bodhisattva against the bluish inner halo, which has been encircled by an intricately drawn fire circle adorned with precious stones. Manjushree sits majestically against the backdrop of snowy mountains, Green hills, and free-flowing icy mountain water. If you look closely you will see the countless hours of shading work that has been invested in bringing the landscape and the flowers to life. A transparent rainbow is depicted from one end of the snow-capped mountain to the far end of the other side only to be covered by Amitabha Buddha right above Manjushri’s head, who is also seated on a lotus throne. The detail work on this thumb-sized Buddha is equally breathtaking and beautiful. The skill of the artist is once more demonstrated here when you inspect the elements of the face of The Amitabha Buddha.
The right hand of Manjushri holds the Vajra handle of the Wisdom-Sword covered with coiling blazing wisdom fire. The sharp iron blade of this wisdom sword is metaphorically used, to cut through ignorance which binds us to Samsara. This very ignorance is the main reason for clinging to self and from there all the suffering arises. Just like a sharp blade penetrates and cuts through the hardest of objects, the wisdom sword or the teachings of the Buddha helps one cut through delusions of Me and Mine-the root cause of Suffering. With his left hand, he holds the stem of a pastel blue lotus flower, supporting the mother of all Buddhist Texts the “Pragyaparamita-Sutra.”
The use of the traditional colors brings a deep sense of peace and calm to any person who views this Thangka painting. The richness added by the use of 24 Karat gold and the sheer skill of the experienced artist, makes this painting a collector’s choice and a practitioner’s support for their devotion.