Padmasambhava on His Copper-Colored Mountain, 18th century. Unknown maker (Tibetan). Thangka: color on cotton, mounted on silk brocade. Bequest of Joseph H. Heil.
Padmasambhava’s life story has been transformed into a mythological narrative that is frequently depicted in Tibetan art. This thangka depicts Padmasambhava’s famed journey to the paradise of the Copper-Colored Mountain. This mythical island was inhabited by rakshasas, or demon-like beings. Padmasambhava sought to convert them to Buddhism. Here, you see him teaching from the grand palace at the summit of the mountain, surrounded by devotees, deities, attendants, and demonic converts.
Look closely and you will find the landscape is filled with wild animals, figures meditating in caves, and rakshasas wreaking havoc amongst the dead in charnel fields. Padmasambhava is believed to be alive today, bringing evil-doers to the Buddhist path in the Copper-Colored Mountain paradise.
