A thangka is a Tibetan scroll-painting that normally uses gouache on a cotton canvas. Various religious topics and themes are depicted in a thangka. These vary from the Buddha and episodes from his lives, to Buddhist scholars and saints, Tantric* deities and demons, and mandalas**. A thangka can be easily rolled up for transport. It normally comprises a painting framed with three bands of fine silk brocade, and is supported by wooden dowel rods at the top and bottom. Often the bottom dowel rod is embellished with wooden or metal knobs on its two ends. The number of frames, however, may vary between one and three, depending upon the choice of the owner. Exceptionally valuable thangkas use a background of gold upon which a central deity is painted, surrounded by rows of smaller duplicate figures in outline. Art historians recognize a number of distinct styles reflecting the main painting traditions.
*Tantric Buddhism is a special path that arose within Mahayana Buddhism, based on treatises known as tantras. While generally embracing the same aims, this path claims to provide a rapid means to accomplishing the goal of enlightenment (bodhi) by means of its distinctive techniques. Its teachings are aimed at lay practitioners in particular, rather than monks and nuns. It recognizes mundane aims and often deals with practices that are more magical in nature than spiritual. It teaches special types of meditation (sadhana) as the path to realization, aimed at transforming the individual into an embodiment of the divine.
The origins of Tantric Buddhism are shrouded in mystery, though most modern scholars believe that it emerged around the 7th century CE in the areas that form the present day Indian states of Orissa, Bengal, Gujarat and Kashmir.
**A mandala is a sacred circle or circular diagram, occasionally oblong as in Japan, having a mystical significance. Mandalas are most commonly found in Tantric Buddhism, where they are believed to represent the body, speech and mind of a Buddha, and are used for initiatory, meditational and other purposes.
