The Scented Journey of Tibetan Incense: Fragrance of Sandalwood
11th century, made of sandalwood, collected in the Potala Palace in Tibet.
In the first half of the 20th century, Lhasa Menzikang Tibetan Trading Post.
Partial: Method of distinguishing the quality of sandalwood
In spring, place sandalwood sticks in boiling butter. If there is a solidified layer of oil on the surface of the branches, it is considered top-grade.
Private collection from the mid-late 19th century
This edition (consisting of fifteen prints) originates from the first half of
The distress of attacking you,
Careful to realize liberation,
Like soaking in sandalwood,
I bow to the wise.
"Zambudvipa" refers to Zambudvīpa Buddha, who achieved enlightenment through profound meditation like the incense's aroma gaining its essence.
"The Discussion on Maitreya and the Thirty-Five Buddhas by Nagarjuna"
Mid-16th century, in the collection of the Rubin Museum.
This Buddha resides in the northwest and possesses the virtues of sandalwood.
Sandalwood fragrance soothes the heart and the smell can dispel the three poisons.
"Painted Tangka of Warlord Manjushri Bodhisattva on Sandalwood"
Originally located in the Dangyalin Monastery in Lhasa in the mid-19th century
It was taken out in the 1920s and is now housed in the British Museum.
Until the mid-19th century, people living in the Amdo region were still discussing the various scenarios of the invasion of Tibet by the Dzungar army. "The holy city's flowers and trees are all destroyed, and there is no sound inside and outside the temples," behind the folk song is the three years of foreign rule from 1717 to 1720, when the defeated Dzungar people carried the sacred statue of Avalokitesvara from the Potala Palace and fled into the distance. Inside the tent, the relaxed Dzungar people drink recklessly, unaware that all of this is part of Kang Jina's plan. Before long, the camp is filled with wailing. As a trusted minister, Kang Jina not only destroyed this fleeing Dzungar army in western Tibet, but also returned the sacred Avalokitesvara statue, which witnessed the rise and fall of Tibet, to the sacred enclave of Putuo. The story began with three high-quality sandalwood trees, at least in the literature after the 11th century, the specific plot is still being expanded. Sandalwood is fragrant, and has always been seen as an excellent material for statues, imparting visual expression with specific allegorical meanings. The first sandalwood tree self-generated an eleven-faced Avalokitesvara statue, the second sandalwood tree self-generated one hundred and eight small Avalokitesvara statues, and the third cow-headed sandalwood tree self-generated four sacred Avalokitesvara statues (some say five). Ultimately, in the shaping of the "sandalwood-Avalokitesvara" concept, the historical memory of the kingdom period is preserved in the world in a fragrant way. In a highly literary expression, the fragrance emitted by the three sandalwood trees permeates the three realms, pleasing the heavenly beings, calming the animals, and comforting the spirits, embodying the elegant and deeply loving essence of fragrance.
"Blue Lapis Lazuli Tibetan Thangka: Earth Element Essence and Plain River Medicinal Materials"
In the first half of the 20th century, in the Menzikang Tibetan Medicine Institute in Lhasa.
Partial: Sandalwood (ཙན་དན་དམར་པོ་)
"The Twelve Deeds of Buddha: Returning to the Human Realm from the Thirty-Three Heavens"
Collected by the Bellis family in the mid-18th century.
Partial: A statue of the Buddha created by the master craftsman Niu Tou Sandalwood, known as the Sandalwood Buddha or Sandalwood World Honored One.
End of the 19th century, 24.8 cm high
Made in Tibet, housed in the Rubin Museum
However, most of the reproductions of the Sandalwood Buddha statue that
"Blue Lapis Lazuli Tibetan Thangkas: Earth-Wood Essence and Plain River Medicinal Materials"
In the first half of the 20th century, Menzikang in Lhasa was a treasure trove of Tibetan medicine.
Private collection from the mid to late 18th century.
"Apply sandalwood oil on the body, and then be burned by the fire, you will no longer fear death" (related to the biography of Lotus-born); perhaps as early as the Tubo period, sandalwood was already a symbol of presenting the laws of the world (religious exchanges and trade relations). In the description of the Tubo royal tombs in the classics, sandalwood doors, sandalwood pillars, and sandalwood decorations are everywhere, and the flames of burning sandalwood are also believed to purify the soul. Different from the previously introduced agarwood, sandalwood and sandalwood trees bear specific imaginations about sacred smell in the classical period of Tibet, and together with the local cedar incense, they constitute the cornerstone of Tibetan incense culture. Just as the proverb says, the sandalwood tree smells sweet without any other decorations, and the cedar tree smells sweet without pollution.
From the mid-14th century, in the collection of the Rubin Museum
(Buddha-Five Buddhas-Three Protectors)