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This field is arranged around the central teacher Tsongkapa (1357-1419), the founding teacher of the Gelug tradition. He is surrounded by teachers, meditational deities, and protectors, shown below. The practitioner would identify with a monk depicted in the lower right, who was probably the donor for this painting.
Geluk Refuge Field
OriginTibet
Date19th century
Dimensions64 1/2 x 40 1/8 x 1/2 in. (163.8 x 101.9 x 1.3 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Object numberF1997.37.1
Himalayan Art Resources Number556
DescriptionThis painting represents the field of accumulation of merit in which all of the teachers of a specific tradition, their teachings written in religious texts, deities that are the focus of practices in that tradition, and its protectors are visually arranged as a one large gathering. Such depictions are meant for devotional practices and also represent the Three Jewels of the Buddhist Faith. This field is arranged around the central teacher Tsongkapa (1357-1419), the founding teacher of the Gelug tradition. He is surrounded by teachers, meditational deities, and protectors, shown below. The practitioner would identify with a monk depicted in the lower right, who was probably the donor for this painting.
Not on view
ca. late 18th - early 19th century
19th century
16th century
19th century
16th century
19th - 20th century
19th century
18th century
18th century
early 18th century, ca. 1720
ca. 17th century
