Black on Black Tibetan Calligraphy

Title:
Kagyu Tiger

102x73 cm, mounted board, gold and silver leaf, 2008.

The tiger has a strong place in Tibetan iconography, moreover as much a mascot of the Great Kagyu linage, one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

On the tigers back are three hum characters, seed syllables of the wrathful protector Dorje Trolo who rides a tiger. Dorje Trolo is one of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche, which as a yidam practice embodies the forces of insight and compassion, remove inner and outer obstacles on ones path to enlightenment.