Fig. 31 Yab-yum temple sculpture, Lhasa, Tibet.
also represented in bronze images. Lhamo, the patron deity of Lhasa, appears as a monstrous female, riding her mule through a sea of blood, her head encircled by flames and skulls, a corpse in her mouth, flayed human skin as a cape, and two demoniclooking attendants beside her (cat. 98). Yet she is a benevolent figure who protects the Dharma, or Buddhist law, helping practitioners to overcome their fear of death. Vajrabhairava looks like a bull-headed monster, embracing his consort in an explosive circle of flames, but he too assists human beings to transcend death and the fear of death, as well as to pass beyond duality to the unity of enlightenment (cat. 97). These kinds of images, sometimes described as “the demonic divine,� recall in part the shamanic spirits of Bon, who relate to primal natural forces and at times express violent energy. Yet they are holy figures, despite their intimidating appearance, and they help Buddhists to achieve nirvana. They are only superficially different from the more peaceful-seeming figures such as Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and Green Tara, a bodhisattva who brings blessings and whose jeweled image expresses maternal benediction (cat. 96). Many types of images and objects are used in Tibetan ceremonies, including thangkas, votive bronze sculptures, small stupas, the conch shell, used as a musical instrument (fig. 38), and the purba, or ritual dagger. A five-skull diadem, another ceremonial object, has images of skulls that symbolize the passions of
Fig. 32 Monastic dancer, Bhutan. Fig. 33 Monastic dancers, Bhutan.
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