TIBETAN BUDDHIST, NEWARI ETCHING, BUDDHA & YASHODHARA!!

This is a limited edition print, actually an artist's proof, of an original etching by the famous artist Uma Shankar Shaw of Kathmandu Nepal.  She is of the Newari ethnic group, the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley.  This is a very original composition which combines 3 mandalas and several Tibetan Buddhist deities.  The figures at the bottom show a form of the Buddha, Vajradhara (see the informaion below about this Adi-Buddha) with Yashodhara as his consort.  Yashodhara was the wife of the Prince Siddhartha who became the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni.  The figures at the top show the deity Kalackara and consort Visvamata.  I am not sure who the smallerdeity in the central mandala is.  A combination of modern and traditional styles.  The etching itself measures about 16 & 1/2 inches by 19 inches.  It is signed in the lower right corner.

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Vajradhara is the ultimate Primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, according to the cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajradhara displaced Samantabhadra Buddha in Gelug and Kagyu mythologies, but is metaphysically equivalent. Achieving the 'state of vajradhara' is synonymous with complete realisation.

From the primordial Vajradhara/Samantabhadra were manifested the Five Wisdom Buddhas (Dhyani Buddhas):

• Akshobhya
• Amoghasiddhi
• Amitabha
• Ratnasambhava
• Vairocana

Vajradhara and the Widsom Buddhas are often subjects of mandala.

Vajradhara and Samantabhadra are cognate deities with different names, attributes, appearances and iconography. Both are Dharmakaya Buddhas, that is primordial Buddhas, where Samantabhadra is unadorned, that is depicted without any attributes. Conversely, Vajradhara is often adorned and bears attributes, which is generally the iconographic representation of a Sambhogakaya Buddha. Both Vajradhara and Samantabhadra are generally depicted in yab-yum unity and are primordial buddhas, embodying void and ultimate emptiness.

Vajradhara is the primordial buddha, the dharmakaya buddha. Vajradhara, depicted as dark blue in color, expresses the quintessence of buddhahood itself. Vajradhara represents the essence of the historical Buddha's realization of enlightenment.

Historically, Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya over 2500 years ago and then manifested as the Buddha. According to Buddhist cosmology, he was the Fourth Historic Buddha of this fortunate eon. Prince Siddhartha's achievement of enlightenment, the realization, or wisdom of enlightenment itself, is called the dharmakaya, the body of truth. When he expresses that realization through subtle symbols, his realization is called the sambhogakaya, the body of enjoyment. When such realization manifested in more accessible or physical form for all sentient beings as the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, it is called the nirmanakaya, the body of manifestation.

The dharmakaya, synonymous with Vajradhara Buddha, is the source of all the manifestations of enlightenment. Vajradhara is central to the Kagyu lineage because Tilopa received the vajrayana teachings directly from Vajradhara, the dharmakaya buddha. Thus, the Kagyu lineage originated from the very nature of buddhahood.

That realization of the nature was in turn transmitted within the Golden Rosary by Tilopa.

From Wikipedia and kagyuoffice.org

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