Under the Mango Tree: Sacred Trees in Himalayan Iconography
Note the mango tree (ཙུ་ཏའི་ཤིང་) in the background. The occasion described concerns the Buddha bringing an outsider under control. A work titled 'Sermon of the Buddha' at Swat Museum (No. 788) is connected to Saraha Rinpoche (ས་ར་ཧ་), one of the 84 great achievers. That wise heart, like a large tree, stands apart from the world.
At the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, the 18th-century "Lifecycles of the Six Realms" presents the tree of contention between gods and asuras: it grows on the Asura path yet blooms and bears fruit on the Deva path. The same museum in New York also houses the 19th-century "Samsara Wheel of Life," which relates to the quarrel between the two parties over the longevity tree. As for "The Great Achievers: Sarahah the Wise and Others" (19th century, New York Ruben Museum), a close-up shows the monkey peering down from the tree at the practitioners.
This particular arrangement is a time-honored pairing that represents the forest of practice. The artwork "The Venerable Medzuba", which dates to the 19th century, belongs to a private collection. A local note identifies Marba Translator as a student of Mezhi Ba. Another local note recognizes the tree located behind the statue of Saraswati as a symbol of the Dharma seal.
At the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, a Six-armed Mahakala from the 19th century is credited to Chögyam Trungpa (ཁྱུང་པོ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་；1002-1064), the founder of the Shambhala tradition, who carried it to Tibet. Meanwhile, "The Medicine Master's Forum City," dated to the 20th century and housed at the American Museum of Natural History, is commonly utilized as the initial image in a medical thangka mandala. Locally, the sandalwood tree (ཙན་སྡོང་) behind Mahakala is connected to the deity's South Asian origins.
Even in areas where vegetation is scarce, I believe people's shared memories of trees remain undiminished—especially on the snowy plateau, where trees of both nature and myth stand together. One such tree, dense and verdant, towers skyward, its massive roots plunging deep into the Dragon Palace.
Considered as a composite entity, a tree has roots that symbolize truth in philosophical discourse, leaves that provide the material for spreading classics and doctrines, flowers that are the source of a fragrance mixed with compassion and love, and fruits that stand as the most tangible nectar treasure. In Tibetan cultural imagery, however, trees are generally expressed in three intents: as a dwelling forest (ཤིང་ནགས་/ནགས་), as a life symbol, and as a sacred tree favored by heavenly beings (ལྷ་ཤིང་).
I shall attempt, in the following passage, to address the natural landscapes found within the imagery history of the Himalayas and Tibet. In such a landscape, each element—mountains, rivers, lakes, trees, and land—carries its own distinct significance. Within the imagery, color conveys order, and spatial arrangement reveals meaning. Wherever humans have depicted nature, a heavenly paradise suitable for dwelling may be discovered. Always bear in mind that nature constitutes an inseparable whole, and that we are sheltered by it. "Birth of Buddha", Baisaw Museum, No.
Later Tibetan styles give the worry-free tree a more stylized appearance, while the earlier rendering remains truer to the tree's actual form. Under the designation 2725 Local, this scene shows the Tree of No Worries. Queen Maya, mother of the Buddha, is depicted touching a branch with her right hand, and the Buddha emerges from her right side—at the right side of his ribs. The seven lotus flowers in the image represent the seven lotuses that appeared at the time of the Buddha's birth. The location is also identified as the Worry-free tree.
In this 20th-century work by Kundun Danba, Vajrayogini is given the face of a young girl once more. The wish-fulfilling tree branch she holds in her hand signifies her capacity to banish darkness.
A 19th-century painting, "Nirvana of Buddha" (Boston Museum of Fine Arts), is set by the river in Kusinara (Kushinagar), among a grove of Sal trees. At the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, the 18th-century "Surrender of Mara's Army" is generally regarded as a step in the "Enlightenment of Buddha," with its scene located at the holy Buddhist site of Bodh Gaya, near today's great Bodhi tree. Also at the Rubin Museum of Art is the 19th-century "Submission of the Devil's Horde," whose locale is the Great Bodhi Tree.
One local reference is Sarangheya Forest, where a 14th-century work titled "Jataka Tales of the Buddha" from a private collection shows a partial scene of the Buddha lying between two Sal trees in Parinirvana, on his right side, with his left foot placed over his right foot. Another local note concerns the Liquidambar tree (ཀླུ་ཤིང་); the tree planted next to the Palace of Maitreya Buddha is actually a sweetly fragrant type of mango. As for depictions of Maitreya Buddha themselves, a 19th-century example belongs to the Norton Simon Museum, while an 18th-century one at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York represents a classic style of the Karma Gadri painting school.
In the Karma Gadri painting tradition, the pine tree (གསོམ་ཤིང་) stands as one of the commonly employed sacred trees. It also reflects the description of "Maitreya is present" (བྱམས་པ་བདེ་སྣང་). Situ Rinpoche calls this depiction the "Youthful Bodhisattva Appearance". The subject of the Tree of Life—both as a sacred tree and as a background element in art—will be taken up in my next article.
This article, translated from Sorang Wangqing's blog, will also examine the requirements for depicting trees in Tibetan art and delve into the Karma Gadri school's deep insights into portraying natural beauty. Trees give us shelter, and sunlight filters through their branches. Stay tuned!