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Lot 59

THE THIRD DALAI LAMA SÖNAM GYATSO (1543 - 1588)

Estimated Value:

5.000 € - 8.000 €

Schätzpreis:

10.000 €

Description:

Tibet, 18th/ 19th c.
70,5 x 47 cm R.
This fine and rare thangka is from a series of thirteen scroll paintings and shows the manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, dedicated to the first seven Dalai Lamas and the six incarnations that preceded them. The present scroll painting is the sixth in this series and shows the third Dalai Lama Sönam Gyatso. He holds a golden vajra as well as a blue bell and wears the yellow headdress of the Gelugpa school. His spiritual master was Panchen Sönam Dragpa and he soon attained supreme realization. Altan Khan, the king of the Khoshotes, asked him to come to Mongolia to introduce Buddhism. He reached Mongolia in 1578 and the Mongols became Buddhists. At the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the third Dalai Lama founded Kumbum Monastery, which became the largest monastery outside Lhasa. He built a wall around the miraculous tree that had grown at the place where Tsongkhapa's umbilical cord had been cut. Each leaf of this tree displayed a mantra or the image of a bodhisattva. Sönam Gyatso died in 1588 while teaching in Karachin. Since Altan Khan was unable to pronounce Sönam Gyatso's name, he translated the second part of it, "Gyatso" - meaning "ocean" into the equivalent Mongolian term "dalai". Thus, Sönam Gyatso was the first to bear the title of Dalai Lama, a title given to him by the Mongolian king whom he had brought to Buddhism in 1578, he had brought to Buddhism. Posthumously, this title was then also given to the two previous incarnations, who subsequently went down in history as the first and the second Dalai Lama. The third Dalai Lama devoted his life to teaching the Dharma to the peoples of Mongolia, western China and eastern Tibet. He had a penchant for spiritual guidance of the countries and ushered in a period of peace and civilization. This influence of Buddhism has survived to our present time. Thousands rushed together in Kham and Amdo to hear his message of love and compassion and turned their backs on violence and hatred. In 1588, while teaching in eastern Tibet, he showed signs of illness. He called his disciples to him and told them that the time of his death had come: "I dedicate my prayers for you to practice with perseverance, so that the clouds of ignorance and violent barbarism that darken the peripheries of our world may be dispelled by the radiant sun of experience. As a result of his extensive travels and his continuous teaching activities, the ongoing teaching activities, the written work of the third Dalai Lama is not as comprehensive as that of his predecessors. "The Essence of Fine Gold" is his best literary composition: the text is written in concise style and encompasses a wide range of thought through which he expounds the Lamrim genre introduced into Tibet by Atisha in 1042, setting forth the stages of the spiritual path. "Five Poems" was the last text written by him. It says: "O Manjushri, embodiment and symbol of Wisdom, Who brought all Buddhas to their enlightened state and represent that Wisdom which is the ultimate object of my refuge: Come into the lotus of my heart and inspire in me the wisdom which is the ultimate object of my refuge. And kindle in me the wisdom of great joy". After writing down his final teachings, his mind withdrew into the clear light of Dharmakaya wisdom and his body took on a radiant glow. On the right of the picture is the Kumbum Monastery. Altan Khan is seated in the lower right corner. In the upper left corner is Panchen Lama Lobsang Döndup, and in the upper right corner is Dorjedenzhi in yab-yum (union). At the bottom center is Guhyasadhana Dharmaraja; his body color is red and he is body color is red and he is riding a bull. Framed under glass.
Important German private collection, collected in the 1970s and 80s, mainly acquired from Schoettle Ostasiatica, Stuttgart
Published: Thangka Calendar 1997, Wind Horse Publishing House, Month April
Published and exhibited: Brauen 'The Dalai Lamas', Völkerkundemuseum Zürich 2005, publ. Arnold Verlag Stuttgart, no. 290, p. 273
Minor wear and traces of age