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.
DAC
What is a Thangka painting?
The Tibetan word Thangka means an unfolding painting, where the word Thang stands for an unfolding scroll and Ka means a painting. Thangka paintings, as a whole, are a visual representation of Buddhist deities, scenes, or mandalas, painted on silk or cotton canvas.
Thangka Paintings follow a generic principle of composition, design, and iconography. It is made following tradition and guidelines while leaving spaces for personal creativity and expression. In Buddhist culture, Thangka Paintings hold high religious values. In a way, it is also a tool that facilitates the realization of one's true nature or the nature of reality
In Ritual Thangka, we provide a collection of a variety of Thangka paintings. Every one of our paintings has been hand-picked by our curators. We take great care in scrutinizing all aspects, from the quality of the thangka cloth to its composition, so that you get only the finest quality paintings.
Mandala
Mandala literally means a circle. The Tibetan word for mandala is Kyilkhor, which means “center and surrounding environment .” In simple terms, it is a circle used as a visual aid for concentration and introversive meditation. Meditating using a mandala leads to the attainment of insights and it helps to increase one’s level of concentration. It also helps to activate forces within oneself which culminates into “Siddhi ” or super–natural forces. The mandala is the graphic representation of this process. It is not only theoretical but practical as an operational scheme involving a clear plan for the practical realization of the process within oneself. It thus becomes an instrument ( Yantra ). It is believed that by just looking at a mandala one’s soul is spiritually purified. Thus, a mandala represents the palace of purity a magic circle cleansed of spiritual obstacles and impurities. The square of the sacred palace is enclosed in multiple circles of flame, vajra, and lotus. These three circles forming the outer rims of the mandala symbolize enlightenment, which the meditating person must gain before he or she can enter the illuminated palace. The mandala then consists of the inner square where the deity of the mandala resides.
The outermost circle or the fire circle is also known as the Fire of Wisdom
Consists of the purifying fire. The diamond circle or the vajra circle expresses strength and fearlessness and finally, the lotus circle expresses the open state of devotion, that is necessary to enter the palace. These three elements denote the state of mind that the follower or the person meditating must possess before practicing dharma.
The name of the mandala is determined according to the deity residing in the center of the sacred palace.
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Size with Brocade: 28"/ 71 cm (width) x 36"91 / (height)
Canvas Size : 16" / 41 cm (width) x 20" / 51 cm (height)
Materials: Cotton Canvas, Acrylic Colors, Genuine 24K Gold
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THIS THANGKA IS HAND-PAINTED IN THE TRADITIONAL STYLE AND THE QUALITY IS HIGH
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Delivery:
-Free Shipping
-Standard Courier Services
-4-10 business days for delivery
-All items are insured
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Return Policy:
-Returns are accepted within 60 business days.
-You can ship either to Nepal or Texas (USA), whichever works better for you.
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We will be more than happy to answer all your questions.
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Please contact us to:
- Custom order a thangka of any Vajrayana deity. Usually, it takes 2-5 months (depending on complexity) to finish such a thangka of average size.