Thangka

Painting. The biography of a High Lama (Nyingma Teacher). Scenes from the life of a great teacher and patriarch of the Red cap Lama Sect, whose portrait is shown at center. In the background are details of his pilgrimages, with interesting views of Tibetan landscape and architecture. The small black tents at the right show how most of the nomadic peoples of northern Tibet have to live on the high windswept plains bordering Turkestan. The white tower on lower left is a chorten or stupa, in which relics of great monks are preserved after death, so that people can honor and worship them. The small square buildings are monks' meditation cells, while the larger buildings with roofs of modified Chinese style represent the great temples. As this is not one of the familiar lama saints, inscriptions in Tibetan script explain the details for the Tibetan worshipper. Bright colors. Recent.