So I was given this thanka recently...

[Jikan]

Actually more like a poster... printed on a kind of plasticized fabric, front and back. The photos below do not reflect the nice level of detail in the image.

Here's the thing: I haven't been able to deduce just what sort of image this is. It looks like a refuge tree to me but I do not know which tradition it belongs to. Any ideas, friends?


(also, any suggestions on how to clean the dust & mold from the edges before I mat and frame this item?)

[JKhedrup]

TheTibetan on the back reads: OM AH HUNG Lama Chopa Merit Field (literal translation Accumulation Field).

And that is what it depicts, the merit field as visualized in the Lama Chopa liturgy of the Gelug tradition.

[JKhedrup]

More information on the figures for those who might be interested. The central figure is Lama Tzongkhapa in the characteristic yellow Pandit's hat.

The main meditational deities (yidams) underneath Lama Tzongkhapa are (l to r) Yamantaka, Guyasamaja, Chakrasamvara and Hevajra. As you move down you see the deities of action tantra, various bodhisattvas, and near the bottom dharma protectors such as Kalarupa, Mahakala and Palden Lhamo.

The figures at the top part are not so clear but two of them look like Mahasiddhas Tilopa and Naropa.

[Jikan]

Excellent, thanks!

[jmlee369]

There are a number of irregularities made by the artist, unfortunately.

[Raksha]

Beautiful thangka .It's odd that it has OM-AH-HUM printed on the back. In painted thangkas drawing these on the back is part of the process of 'bringing them to life', so it is strange to print it on the back of a print. It can't be 'live' if done in this way, so I guess it is just a decorative convention. (Unless you intend to use them as an object of devotion, it is generally better for 2D images not to be 'live'.)
R.
P.S. There are actually no such things as errors, imperfections, or unfortunate irregularities in any Buddha image (unless you are an artist or restorer who is just about to start work on them, to make them even more perfect )

[gregkavarnos]

Use alcohol to clean the dust and mould off the edges, the purer the better. A small amount (ie damp not wet) on a cotton wool disk (make up removal disks).