No price for heartfelt devotion

In old Tibet, a Thangka was the fruit of a sacred human trio: a lama, a religious
practitioner and a Thangka artist. The practitioner, having sought the counsel of
a qualified Buddhist lama chooses one of the deities as preceptor for his or her
spiritual practice. He or she then invites a Thangka painter and host the artist
with the best possible hospitality for the duration of the painting process. If the
requested deity was especially difficult or unusual, the artist consulted with the
lama to clarify aspects of the image.

In order that the finished Thangka be worthy of the practitioner's heartfelt
devotion, offering and meditation practice, the Thangka painter generated a pure intention free of all selfish motives and undertook the task with a joyful mind.

There was no discussion of price when the order was placed, and the Thangka
was not considered a mere commodity but as a living expression of enlightened
energy.

The practitioner must be willing to be patient and refrain from rushing the artist.
The combined energy generated by the realized lama, the devout practitioner
and the concentrated artist renders the finished Thangka particularly sacred. In
modern times, it has become necessary to set prices for Thangkas, but in old
Tibet an artist was paid whatever the practitioner could afford or felt was
appropriate. The artist felt grateful and happy regardless of the size or quality of
payment.




 
 













































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