Arts & Cultures Collections Database

Lama Padmasambhava (or Guru Rinpoche). Padmasambhava was one of the first Indian teachers to bring Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, and is now represented in Tibet as a meditational deity. Padmasambhava is particularly revered by the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhists. Here he is pictured in one of his eight main forms, wearing the robes of a Buddhist monk and the red hat of an Indian pandita, or teacher (from which we get the English term "pundit"). This painting was originally one of a set of nine paintings of Padmasambhava in different forms. The figure in the upper left-hand corner is Dhanasamskrita, one of eight Indian vidyadharas, or heavenly bearers of knowledge, from whom Padmasambhava is believed to have received wisdom. Chinese influences in the style identify this painting as coming from eastern Tibet.