The Lam Rim Assembly Tree

The Tibetan name for this tangka, Lam Rim Tsokshing, translates as "Assembly Tree of the Stages on the Path of Tradition." It depicts the principal Indian and Tibetan masters and divinities associated with the transmission of the "Stages on the Path" teaching, an approach to mastering the exoteric, or Sutrayana teachings of the Buddha. Here the word "assembly" has two meanings: the images on the painting are an assembly of the historical personages in the important lineages of transmission, as well as of the major divinities that embody the sentiment of those lineages; and also the practitioner assembles or collects great merit and wisdom by meditating on the images. The Buddha is the central figure of this painting.

This tangka is from the surviving archives of Tibet's Drepung Loseling Monastery, which now operates from its exile location in Southern India. The Lam Rim Assembly Tree depicts the principal lineages of transmission which comprise the Gelukpa, or "Yellow Hat" School of Tibetan Buddhism. Most Gelukpa monks cultivate a daily meditation practice focusing on this or another assembly tree image.

Text excerpted from the exhibition catalog written by Glenn Mullin and Andy Weber.

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