WHITE TARA

Another deeply tranquil thangka painting from CK Dong, this time an image of the White Tara. Legend describes how the Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara spilled two tears to earth out of despair for humanity and that each formed a lake on which grew a lotus; the left one opened to reveal a Green Tara, from the right emerged the White Tara. Historically, the white Tara has been identified with the T'ang Chinese Princess Wen-che'ng, who married the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo and helped bring Buddhism to Tibet. The White Tara symbolises purity, long life, and, as an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, compassion as well. She is an incredibly popular deity in both Nepal and Tibet, bringing protection and longevity. Her right hand gesture (varamudra) offers help in the form of both material and spiritual blessings, while her extra eyes on the forehead, palms and soles symbolise the ever-alert nature of her compassion, in the same way as the thousand hands of Avalokiteshvara. Her left hand holds a lotus symbolising compassion and the three raised fingers symbolise the triple gem of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

CK Dong's minimalist style lends a great sense of peace to this image. The line is crisp and the colouring extremely subtle.

WHITE TARA
Artist Name:	Lama CK Dong
Painting size:	51cm X 41cm

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