The thangka paintings have arrived

Two extraordinary thangka paintings, which the museum’s National Leadership Board commissioned to honor former director, Bonnie Speed on the occasion of her retirement, have arrived at the Carlos. Master artist Tenzin Norbu and a team of thangka painters at the Norbulingkga Institute in Dharamsala, India, spent over a year working on the companion paintings. The first, is a depiction of the bhavacakra, which can be translated as the “wheel of existence” or the “wheel of becoming.” The imagery, a series of concentric circles representing the psychological and metaphysical processes by which karma functions, includes graphic portrayals of

top Tenzin Norbu (Tibetan, b. 1973). Bhavacakra (Wheel of Becoming). 2022. Mineral pigments on cotton. Gift of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Leadership Board in honor of Bonnie Speed. 2022.10.1

below Tenzin Norbu (Tibetan, b. 1973). Samatha (Calm-abiding). 2022. Mineral pigments on cotton. Gift of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Leadership Board in honor of Bonnie Speed. 2021.10.2 heavens, hells, human, animal, and ghost realms, as well as symbolic representations of the subtle mental states that lead beings to take birth in these various destinies. According to tradition, the historical Buddha himself conceived of the image, which was painted on the exterior walls of Buddhist temples throughout the Himalayas for monastics to use when teaching laypeople about samsara.

If the first painting depicts the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth based on karma, the second depicts a way out. What appears at first glance to be a monk, an elephant, a monkey, and a hare traveling up a hill is actually a visual representation of the śamatha or calm-abiding meditation. Through śamatha, practitioners learn to focus their minds single-pointedly on a chosen object of meditation, such as the breath, an image of the Buddha, or love and compassion for all sentient beings. Subsequently, this attentional stability is combined with wisdom to penetrate the delusions that bind ordinary beings to samsara. Like the bhavacakra, each aspect of the śamatha image has symbolic and pedagogical meaning.

The thangka paintings will be installed in the museum’s Asian galleries and will be the focus of talks by Dr. Sara McClintock of Emory’s Department of Religion and Dr. Brendan Ozawa de Silva of Emory’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics during the annual Tibet Week celebration, which returns in person to the Carlos October 17 through 22.