Portrait of Yutog Yontan Gonpo
Encyclopedia
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
depiction of the lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
and the physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
Yutog Yontan Gonpo
Yutog Yontan Gonpo
Yutog Yontan Gonpo was an 8th century high lama and the physician of Tibet.He should be distinguished from Yuthok Yontan Gompo the Younger who lived in the 12th century.For further discussion see Portrait of Yutog Yontan Gonpo.-External links:*...
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. This style of Tibetan thangka
Thangka
A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...
painting is called 'tsal thang' with gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
on a vermilion
Vermilion
Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly...
ground.
The figure of Yutog Yontan Gonpo is often portrayed surrounded by the five buddhas above, the eight Medicine Goddesses at the sides, his special yidam
Yidam
In Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity...
Black Hayagriva
Hayagriva
Hayagriva is a horse-headed deity that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism.-Hinduism:...
accompanied by four goddesses below. The protector Mahakala
Mahakala
Mahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...
Shanglon Dorje Dradul typically placed at the bottom center is accompanied by eight fearsome wrathful protector deities with one face and two or four hands, each riding a vahana
Vahana
Vāhana denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular deva is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's mount. Upon the partnership between the deva and his vāhana is woven much iconography and mythology...
. Four of the retinue figures ride atop wild animal or zombie mounts and each of those has nine heads.
The portrait depicts a clean shaven Gonpo as he stretches the right arm forward across the knee in the mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
of generosity while holding the stem of a pink lotus flower blossoming over the shoulder supporting the wisdom book and sword. The left placed at the heart holds the stem of another lotus, blossoming over the left shoulder, supporting a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
vajra
Vajra
Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...
and medicinal nectar vase topped with precious jewels
Cintamani
Cintamani also spelled as Chintamani is a wish-fulfilling jewel within both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, equivalent to the philosopher's stone in Western alchemy....
. With a headdress of red flower blossoms, he wears a long flowing garment typical of a layman, trimmed with blue and tied with a red sash. He is surrounded by a blue-orange nimbus
Nimbus
-General meanings:* Nimbus cloud, a cloud that produces precipitation* Halo , light or mist from an object* Halo , the disk or ring around the head of a sacred figure-Specific meanings:* Nimbus , A video game...
and dark green areola
Areola
This article is about the breast tissue. For the entomology term, see the glossary of Lepidopteran terms. For an artistic cloud motif, see aureola. For the cactus feature, see Areole....
. In front, an ornate table supports a large bowl of myrobalan fruit and precious jewels.
At the top center is the buddha Akshobhya
Akshobhya
In Vajrayana Buddhism, Akṣobhya is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality...
with one face and two hands holding to the heart with the right a vajra sceptre and with the left a skullcup in the lap. Seated in vajra posture he embraces the consort. At the left is thr Ratnasambhava
Ratnasambhava
Ratnasambhava is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Lochana and his mount is a...
holding a jewel to the heart and embracing the consort. Below is buddha Vairochana holding a wheel to the heart. At the right is buddha Amitabha holding a lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...
flower. Below the buddha Amoghasiddhi
Amoghasiddhi
Amoghasiddhi is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. he is associated with the accomplishment of the Buddhist path and of the destruction of the poison of envy. His name means He Whose Accomplishment Is Not In Vain. His Shakti/consort is Tara, meaning Noble...
is holding a visva-vajra to the heart surrounded by radiant light.
At the middle right and left are four standing goddesses holding a flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
and a mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
. Beautiful in appearance with flowing garments they stand on lotus seats surrounded by light.
At the bottom center is the Medicine Buddha in the form of a wrathful tutelary deity, Black Hayagriva, with one face, and three eyes with a head crowned with a single green horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
head. The right hand holds aloft a curved knife (kartika
Kartika (knife)
A kartika is a small, symbolic crescent knife or 'chopper', used in Vajrayana Buddhist ceremonies. It symbolizes the severance of all material and worldly bonds and is crowned with a vajra, which is said to destroy ignorance, and leads to enlightenment. The kartika is a key ritual implement in the...
) and in the left a skullcup (kapala
Kapala
A kapala or skullcup is a cup made from a human skull used as a ritual implement in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra...
) to the heart. On the rear of Hayagriva
Hayagriva
Hayagriva is a horse-headed deity that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism.-Hinduism:...
two large black wings are unfurled. At the right and left stand four goddesses each with one face and two hands holding aloft in the right a curved knife and a skullcup to the heart with the left, carrying a katvanga staff in the bend of the elbow. Adorned with a tiara of five skulls and various bone ornaments, they each stand on the left leg in a dancing posture surrounded again by radiant light.