The Buddhist lama Padmasambhava as Guru Drakpochey

For Tibetan Buddhism’s earliest Nyingma teachings to survive the era of Buddhism’s near extinction in the region (850–1000), extraordinary intervention was required. Anticipating this period, the lama Padmasambhava concealed the teachings in both physical locations and in the minds of his students. These hidden treasures (terma) would be rediscovered at prescribed future times, whether unearthed from the ground or recovered from the minds of those disciples in subsequent rebirths. The dark-red winged deity embracing his blue consort at the center of this painting embodies one of those hidden teachings, recovered by Pema Lingpa (seated upper right) around the turn of the sixteenth century. This deity, Guru Drakpochey, is a fierce manifestation of Padmasambhava himself (upper left), capable of destroying all obstacles, however dreadful, to enlightenment.

Video: Time Travel in Two Tibetan Thangkas (Part 1 of 2): http://youtu.be/uCNCNfsFmXc
Video: Time Travel in Two Tibetan Thangkas (Part 2 of 2): http://youtu.be/vr5D0mzyiLk

Jeffrey Durham, Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum, discusses two iconic masterworks in the museum's collection of Himalayan art. A lecture presented by the Society for Asian Art on May 1, 2015