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Vajra Nairatmya (Tib.: dor je dag me ma [rdo rje bdag med ma]. English: the Selfless One, or Egoless One): from the Heva...
10/13/2026

Vajra Nairatmya (Tib.: dor je dag me ma [rdo rje bdag med ma]. English: the Selfless One, or Egoless One): from the Hevajra and Samputa Tantras - both early and important texts of the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. Nairatmya is a meditational deity and partner to Hevajra. There are many different forms and combinations of forms for the two deities, alone, or as a couple in ecstatic embrace.

”Vajra Nairatma, [with] a body black in colour, one face and two hands. The right [hand] holds aloft a curved knife and the left a skullcup to the heart, and carrying a katvanga [in the bend of] the elbow. Having three eyes and bared fangs. Yellow hair bristling upwards. A crown of five dry human skulls and a necklace of fifty. Adorned with the five ornaments of bone. Wearing a lower garment of tiger skin. Standing on a co**se seat in a dancing manner with the left leg extended in a half [vajrasana] posture.“ (Konchog Lhundrub, 1497-1557).

This painting of Nairatmya (HAR 205201) is from the 16th century, currently belonging to the Sakya Monastery Collection, and its painting style is Khyenri.

Descriptions of Simhanada Avalokiteshvara’s iconography “... a lion with the head looking to the right. Above that is a ...
10/12/2026

Descriptions of Simhanada Avalokiteshvara’s iconography

“... a lion with the head looking to the right. Above that is a moon disc ... the Lord of the World, Simhanada, with a body white in colour, having one face and two hands, three eyes, with the hair bound in a topknot. The right hand is extended above the knee in the refuge giving mudra and the left placed firmly on the seat behind the back. Having the appearance of an ascetic, seated in the lalitaraja posture. On the right side is a white snake coiled around an upright trident and on the left side, above a lotus stem is a skullcup filled with various fragrant flowers and adorned with a flaming sword.” (From an edited version of the Bari Gyatsa by Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub (1497-1557). GTKT, vol.12, folio 258. Jeff Watt, October 1984. Vancouver, Canada).

“... with a body white in colour, one face, two hands, three peaceful eyes, with the face slightly smiling. The right hand is extended above the knee in the mudra of giving refuge. The palm of the left hand is supported on the moon seat, holding the stem of a red lotus, the petals blossoming next to the ear. Above is the cleansing blue sword of wisdom. The left breast is covered with the skin of a krishnasara deer; encircled with a white Brahmin string necklace; with a lower garment of red silk. The body is slightly thin and dexterous. At the left above a red lotus with eight petals is a skullcup filled with various fragrant flowers; at the right, a trident with a green shaft entwined with a white snake. The left [hand] is in the gesture of holding a fragrant lotus.” (Written by Yarlungpa Sengge Gyaltsen, 13th century. (Jeff Watt, Vancouver, Canada, September, 1985).

Padmasambhava (HAR item number : 8263) depicted in a narrative scene with small children against a countryside backgroun...
10/10/2026

Padmasambhava (HAR item number : 8263) depicted in a narrative scene with small children against a countryside background. Scenes such as this are typically inspired from the various versions of the life story of Padmasambhava.

Considered principal among the many teachers to bring Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, Padmasambhava has numerous forms representing outer, inner and secret aspects. Within the Oral (K**a) Tradition of the Nyingma School, Padmasambhava was born in Northern India as the son of a king, or minister. In the Treasure (Terma) Tradition he was born on a lotus in Dhanakosha lake in the kingdom of Orgyan (Uddiyana, Urgyan) as an emanation of Amitabha Buddha.

“Miraculous buddha arising from a lotus,
Unborn, undying, possessing a vajra body,
Performing the activity of all buddhas of the three times;
Homage to Padmasambhava.” (Nyingma liturgical verse).

Jeff Watt 11-2018

Kunpang Sherab Gyatso (1478-1542) Life Story composition from a much larger set of Drugpa Kagyu Lineage paintings. [TBRC...
10/09/2026

Kunpang Sherab Gyatso (1478-1542) Life Story composition from a much larger set of Drugpa Kagyu Lineage paintings. [TBRC P919, HAR item number :81429]

Kunpang Sherab Gyatso (1478-1542) was a teacher and lineage holder of the Drugpa Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also known by the names Jetsun Tsunmochen and Awadhutipa Tsunmochen. The term ‘awadhutipa’ is Sanskrit and refers to a Buddhist practitioner that has completely renounced the worldly life style.

The Drugpa Kagyu was, and still remains today, a sub-school of the Dagpo Kagyu. The Drugpa was founded by Tsangpa Gyare and descends from the teachers Pagmodrubpa, Gampopa, Milarepa and Marpa Chokyi Lodro. The name of the school ‘drug’ means dragon and originates from an experience when the founder and a group of students are said to have seen several dragons rise from the earth and into the sky. This event was taken as an auspicious occurrence, and henceforth the school was known as the Drugpa Kagyu.

There are many lineages and traditions of the Drugpa school and they are traditionally categorized in several different ways. An early system to distinguish the various lineages and schools divides them into Upper, Middle and Lower Drugpa. Another system divides them into just two categories: Northern Drugpa (primarily in Tibet), and the Southern Drugpa of Bhutan. From all of the many lineages and schools of the Dagpo Kagyu descending from Milarepa’s student Gampopa, the Drugpa is by far the largest of the many schools with major centers in Tibet, throughout the Himalayas, the Northern mountain ranges of Nepal, Ladakh and other regions of North India, and finally the country of Bhutan.

For the full write up on this painting, please search for HAR item number 81429 on the website.

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