Lungta Collaborative Article for Asianarts

8/8/2019 Lungta Collaborative Article for Asianarts

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welcomed the opportunity to travel together. Siennas companionship was an unexpected gift and delight; fluent in Nepaliand Tibetan, with deep personal and cultural knowledge of the region 5, her skills were a tremendous asset. We were joined

by two additional companions; our guide and liaison Gyaltso Bista, close friend of Sienna and amchi practitioner in theservice of the Loba King, Jigme Palbar Bista, and as Sienna would be traveling with her not-quite four year old daughter Aida, she would be aided by Norzing-La, daughter of the Loba Queens lady-in-waiting, Dawa. With these advantages wewould be able to travel with efficiency and speed. Traveling with the intrepid Aida added a unique dimension to the

physical and psychological challenges, heightening both our sense of protective vigilance and connection, both with eachother and with the humanity of the Lobas. And so in the late summer of 2008, our group crossed into the restricted area of Upper Mustang, headed for the capital of Monthang, and on the trail of the Windhorse.

Border Checkpoint, Kagbeni Drdak and Craig enroute to Lo. Clearfield and Drdak, Craig and Aida, Drdak and Clearfield

newly discovered caves in Lo with Jigme Palbar Bista, 25 th King of LoPhotos 8,9,10, 11

The LUNGTA Triptychs visual imagery draws upon two living concepts from the Tibetan cultures of this remoteHimalayan region; that of Lung-Ta, and that of the Rigsum Gompo the Three Protectors. These concepts physically andmetaphysically permeate the Kingdom of Lo, which is believed to be the last remaining enclave of pure Tibetan culture.Though the origins of these concepts lie deep within the ancient Central Asian, Himalayan, and Vedic cultures, their underlying sensibilities are familiar to the West.; many of our myths reflecting similar concepts and structures. But therelevance of this iconography, indeed that of any imagery, lies in its ongoing capacity to connect with the present; in thisessential respect Lung-Ta lives!

Lung-Ta is multivalent in depth, flexibility, and relevance; it exists conceptually on dual planes of both the metaphysicaland the vernacular - the universal and the personal the eternal and the temporal. The Lung-Ta , or Windhorse, lends itsname to the Tibetan or Buddhist Prayer Flag. This common vernacular form can be seen strung at shrines, monasteries, andsites of spiritual significance, both public and private. Though images, specific text, and motivational intent of Lung-Tamay vary greatly, the predominant form is a square of cloth upon which is printed an image (from which its name isderived) of the Celestial Horse bearing upon its back the Flaming Jewels of the Dharma, surrounded by the text of Buddhist prayers and accompanied by the Four Animal Guardians. (Photo 4) As it flies, it sanctifies the animating and

permeating wind, carrying the blessings of the Dharma heavenward. Snapping in the wind, it recalls the sound of horseshooves. An evocative and recurring sight, Lung-ta signify places of power - high mountain passes, venerated gompas - andconfer blessing and protection upon points of vulnerability - both human and inanimate.

5 Horses Like Lightening; A Story of Passage through the Himalayas, Sienna Craig, Wisdom Publications 2008


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Lung-ta with Windhorse

Lung-Ta also refers to a more subtle concept; that of the Mind riding upon the Spirit, as a Horseman rides upon a Horse. InIndeed, early Vedic peoples visualized the structure of the World-Cosmos as analogous to the horses body. In Tibetan, tais horse and lung (Tib.) signifies not only breath or wind, but atmospheric energy, and further, the prana, or vital energy,surging through the subtle or vajra (diamond) body which all individuals are believed to posses. The energy of the horserepresents the Heavenly Wind; the great Pranic Breath of the Cosmos upon which rides the Mind, that of the innateconsciousness of the universe that is the inheritance of Man. In some traditions and interpretations this association becomesso close that the two are conflated; this merging of identification being common in early totemic cultures. When properly

aligned, through the purging of destructive negativity and ignorance, the Mind (Rider) soars into the Heavens upon theeternal energy of his Soul (Steed) and unimpeded attains Liberation, or moksha ; the reconciliation of Spirit and Matter,Prusha and Prakriti, Atman and Brahman.

The horse is pivotal to the cultural and physical life of Lo; it is the seminal symbol of both wealth and virtue. Indeed, in thewritings of Dr. Sienna Craig, the intimacies of this cultural relationship extend to burial and medicine; the Loba andMustangi regard for their horses often being evidenced in similarity of ritual practices for both humans and horses. Thehorses body provides a metaphor for innumerable emotional, physical and spiritual states. It offers an ever presentreminder of the internal aspiration for the spiritual skill of the Cosmic Rider who is One with the Cosmic Horse; the greatBuddhist poet Milarepa's "Song of the Galloping Horse of a Yogi" gives eloquent voice to this affinity:

In the mountain hermitage which is my body,

In the temple of my breast

At the summit of the triangle of my heart,

The horse which is my mind flies like the wind.

He gallops on the plains of great bliss.

If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious Buddha.

Going backward, he cuts the root of samsara;

Going forward he reaches the high land of buddhahood.

Astride such a horse, one attains the highest illumination. 6

As is here evident, the concept of Lung-ta is highly accommodating of creative synthesis. Its imagery is highly plastic,expressing both physical and metaphysical energies. In approaching my work for the collaborative, it was important for meto envision formal structures that could clearly translate into their expressive counterparts in music, so that this lovelyduality would be effectively realized through the complimentary forms of music and image. Approach and treatment wereselected with consideration of their translation into musical structure. Thus, forms evocative of wind and movement

permeate the Triptych. In my paintings, Lung-Ta is expressed through dynamic gesture incorporating elements of the6 The 100,000 Songs of Milarepa, translation by Losang P. Lhalungpa


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equine form, as well as formal references to the cloud formations racing across the vast Tibetan plateau. The speed of thehorse associates it with the wind, and through natural extension, the clouds. Indeed, among the Tibetans, one particular form of cloud with a twisting, trailing form is known as a Mares Tail 7. Clouds, and all natural forms, are highly codifiedin Tibetan visual iconography, as are their symbolical associations. In determining Lung-Tas visual vocabulary, I haverespectfully referenced these forms, interpreting and integrating them within the biomorphic structure. Cloud Streets(long continuous bands of clouds) and Mares Tails merge with muscular fragments, suggesting the shifting energies andmoods of the Windhorse as it flies through the heavens, and convey this alliance between horse and wind. Their shiftingstates of existence are conveyed through biomorphic expression- the perpetuity of material flux - the endless becomingof the physical; the manifest within the immanent.

I have used the expressive potential inherent in the equine form to allude to both the Windhorse itself, and additionally thequalities associated with each of the bodhisattvas of the Rigsum Gompo, described below. The tripartite further translatesinto musical movements; thus, in Manjushri, rolling clouds unfurl and stream outward, referencing the Bodhisattva whodispels the Clouds of Ignorance.

LUNGTA Triptych-MANJUSHRI 2009 Acrylic, clay, gold, and iron on linen Dimensions: 6 x 6 feet 2009 2009 Maureen Drdak Their gentled streams merge into the following imageAvalokiteshvara. Here the cloud streets are calm, and the great

biomorphic form is gently closed within itself, or collected; an equine term that signifies balance, harmony and benevolence.

7 The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs , Robert Beer, Shambala, Boston 1999, pg 24


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LUNGTA Triptych-AVALOKITESHVARA 2009 Acrylic, clay, gold, and iron on linen Dimensions: 6 x 6 feet 2009 2009 Maureen Drdak

The cloud streets continue onwards, and in Vajrapani, the bodhisattva emblematic of skillful method or action(vajra =lightening), they explode in a lightening stroke outward and off the picture plane; the resulting energy resonates andreverberates throughout the jagged biomorphic structure.


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LUNGTA Triptych-VAJRAPANI 2009 Acrylic, clay, gold, and iron on linen Dimensions: 6 x 6 feet 2009 2009 Maureen Drdak

The horizontal rush of the cloud streets manifest the universal winds and complement the surging Tsa lung, whichconceptually ground the work. Passing through all three images, they are here depicted as three pure gold threadsthe

Prana channels - carrying the breath of life. Crowning the anterior plane of all three images, the deep blue of space recedesupward according to Tibetan sensibility. Movement, light, and speed are the essence of LUNGTA .


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Photo 12 Rigsum Gompo in Lo Photo 13 Offering Wall Photo 14 Rigsum Gompo colors on Tsarang Monastery

To the imagery of the Windhorse ( Lung-Ta) , I have joined the colors of the Rigsum Gompo, the Three Protectors. Theyfunction as a visual benediction. The Rigsum Gompo is a triad of three Buddhist deities, or bodhisattvas, symbolicallydepicted within the region of Lo as three simple square edifices, or chortens, enrobed in the colored clays of this region.They are emblematic of the three corresponding Buddhist Protectors who are respectively: Manjushri, whose attributes are

Wisdom and the color red-yellow; Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan- Chenrezig )8

, whose attributes are Compassion and White; andVajrapani, whose attributes are Action or Power, and the color blue-black. These three deities are positioned at points of vulnerability around villages and, as a triad, form an ideal unified force for the protection of all sentient beings. RigsumGompo are strategically situated in protective positions around Loba villages; their colors anoint places of veneration andoffering. They confer protection upon the homes of villagers. In my paintings, the Rigsum Gompo are represented as threecolor fields occupying the lower third of the image plane. They are painted with the actual colored clays of Lo, originatingfrom specific areas within the region, brought back by me for this purpose. Upon each of the three color fields istranscribed one of three stanzas comprising a Prayer for Planetary Peace 9 , which was written at my request by TenzinBista, an amchi and senior monk from Choede Monastery in Lo Monthang, specifically for this work. Addressed to thecrucible of these greatly troubled times, the prayer is an invocation and benediction for Everyman, the Earth, and AllSentient Beings. I have transcribed this prayer 10, literally, in iron (fine iron particles in acrylic suspension). Iron is regardedas spiritually efficacious, being associated with the meteoric iron that frequently falls upon the Tibetan Plateau. Itsassociations with the horse, lightening, life force, chaste heart, and fire, and their correlative properties, mark it as a

powerful signifier. The text of this prayer is written in the cursive form of Tibetan, called kyug yig or running hand. Itsexpressive form, rarely seen in the West, is evocative of the rushing cloud formations of the Tibetan Plateau, and resonateswith the dynamic movements of the biomorphic forms racing across the three canvases. The Lung-Ta images are painted inacrylic on transparently primed linen and are each six by six feet. They are presented in a form analogous to the vernacular expression of Lung-Ta, that of the prayer flag; they have been cut from their stretchers and fly freely when hung in their venue. As the raison detre of the visual arts is, ultimately, the expression, communication and reception of spiritual values,Their sensibility is therefore, of a sacral nature.

My art has long been grounded in both external and internal locations of extremis ; the deserts, seas and heights of theearth, and from the great philosophical visions which continually spring forth from them. As such, the Himalaya is asanctified place where both body and mind are driven inexorably towards the reconciliation of opposites. One isrelentlessly aware of physical limitations, and yet, paradoxically, experiences a limitless sense of euphoric connection. Thegrace of transcendence seems momentarily within reach. Through this requisite submission of the ego to the abrasion of

vast and impersonal forces, our apprehension of the eternal is ever refined, our sense of connection ever deepened, our creativity continually enhanced.

8 Interestingly, Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan-Chenrezig), is manifested in wrathful form as the horse-headed Hayagriva,the Wisdom Lord, and has Vedic antecedents; the neighing of the horse shatters ignorance and evil, etc.; thelist of associative relationships are abundant.

9 See the Prayer written by Tenzin S. Bista and the cursive transcription. (Link)10 It is important for me to state that I am not literate in Tibetan (in any form). The prayer was transcribed from the

original block, to kyug yig, by a colleague of Dr. Craig; I then transcribed the cursive to the paintings , endeavoring toas accurate a rendering as possible, consulting with both Drs. Craig and Heller in the process.


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As mentioned in the first lines of this essay, a heightened sense of cultural change and fragility informed our work.Societies are rapidly changing, increasingly stretching the limits of communal connection. Art can be a powerful force for easing this dislocation; it can offer a momentary sense of communal transcendence-tenuous, yet essential; West meetingEast; thesis and antithesis birthing synthesis, yet one more variation of evolution of Self through Other. Art can maintainmeaningful cultural identity and be a positive force for self definition-a grounding matrix enabling individuals to locatethemselves within their societies, and their world. Lung-Ta is an allegory for the human soul and its relationship with theeternal/universe; though aesthetically autonomous, LUNGTA exists, ultimately, for communal benefit. It is my hope that inthis respect, it accords with the Tibetan spiritual aesthetic, and honors the spirit of the mountains from which this work isdrawn.

MAUREEN DRDAK April 2009

Drdak and her mare Dolma,climbing the canyon wall to Tsele villagePhoto 15

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Lungta Collaborative Article for Asianarts