Manjusri

Palden Choedak Oshoe was born in Bhutan in 1966, and comes from a family of Tibetan artists who create official works of art for the Dalai Lama. Palden grew up in Dharamsala, India, where he became a monastic student at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. A scholar of Buddhist philosophy as well as a painter, Palden moved to Ithaca in 1994 to serve as the official translator for Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. The artist decided to break from the traditional thangka (scroll) format to paint this special form of Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. Known as Jamyang Maway Senge, which literally means “Lion of Speech,” the red-skinned youthful deity rides on a blue lion. He holds the sword of wisdom in one hand and a lotus blossom supporting a book, the Prajnaparamita sutra, in the other. Above is a seated Shakyamuni Buddha. Manjusri is shown in a verdant mountain landscape with tumbling stream and waterfalls, and a bright sky filled with multicolored clouds. A group of offerings appears within the lush vegetation of the foreground; these include precious jewels, a conch shell, and a vase of nectar. In the upper right corner of the painting a cartouche contains text from one of the Dalai Lama’s prayers to this form of Manjusri. Tibetan Buddhists believe that by meditating on this Manjusri, one can gain further wisdom into the way things are and develop the skills to be of service to others.