Thongdrel
Thongdrel (old. Throngdrel ) or Guru Thongdrol is a large thangka (scroll painting ) called in Tibetan Buddhism . Translated, Guru Thongdrol means "teacher through view". It is said that the power of thongdrel is so strong that just by looking at Guru Thongdrol all sins fall away from the viewer .
A thongdrel is used on the occasion of high holidays, e.g. B. at tsechus in Bhutan usually placed early in the morning on the last day of the festival.
The thongdrel is the largest form of a Tibetan Buddhist thanka that is almost always made in landscape format. The image dimensions are large and can measure up to approx. 30 × 40 meters. First, large colored areas are applied to a large length of fabric that serves as a substrate . Several pictures, which are composed of colorful fabrics, are sewn onto these. Usually the central figure - in Bhutan the Guru Rinpoche - is surrounded by eight of his manifestations . On the upper edge there are loops through which a rod for attachment to a temple or a wall provided for this purpose is inserted. Helpers pull up the scroll painting with ropes and fix it to the temple roof or a wall. Throughout the year, the scroll painting is wrapped in a yellow fabric and stored in a box. There are very old thong drels , one is said to be 400 years old.
Throngdrel at the fortress of Gyangzê , Tibet expedition 1938.
Thangka wall by Trashilhünpo
Trashilhünpo monastery with the Thangka wall in the background
Thongdrel with Guru Rinpoche during Gomkora Tsechu
literature
- Khenpo Phuntshok Tashi, Invoking Happiness: Guide to the Sacred Festivals of Bhutan and Gross National Happiness , 2011 - ISBN 978-99936-777-3-4
Web links
- Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche
- Bhutan Cultural Atlas - The Dance of the Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche (Guru Tshen Gye)