Aurora never cease to amaze, enthrall, and exhilarate…thanks, solar flare. How lovely. #aurora

Thinking a lot about karma and opportunities to witness it ripening… Thus, #ThangkaTuesday features the Wheel of Becoming (Bhavachakra; སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ།) which illustrates #Buddhist ideas of cause & effect, realms of rebirth, aka samsara. 📷: Natl Gallery Prague via HAR #himalaya #buddhistart #karma

Another site doing things with AI that none of their users want—this time academia.edu making AI-generated “podcasts” about our scholarship… #AcademicSky

#ThangkaTuesday transatlantic edition. It’s wheels up from Bhutan & this Yeshe Tsogyal keeps coming to mind—her gorgeous garments, especially the subtle striping on her wrap, and the adornments in her hair. Simply sublime! 📷: me, pvt collection, Bhutan #himalaya #himalayanart #bhutan #buddhistart

#ThangkaTuesday was on hiatus—now back with this beauty from the newly opened Wangduechholing Palace Museum in #Bhutan. It took us a while, but we think we know which Je Khenpo it is. (18th!) Thanks to the WPM team for the guided tour & invitation to speak. #buddhistart #himalaya #fulbright

Excited to see this talk on Tibetan scripts by Pentsok Rtsang! #himalaya #tibet

Belated #ThangkaTuesday entry comin’ in hot with a tiny detail of three cave-dwelling, red-robed yogis propitiating a rather remarkable phallus (man? spirit?) #himalaya #buddhistart #bhutaneseart

We dodged a bullet—imagine what continued funding for the arts would have contributed to. All those people thinking about & responding to, and (shudder) finding joy in, the human condition… Great that this will reduce creative expression & thoughtful engagement even more rapidly 👊🇺🇸🔥

From the Yum Chenmo above to the trio of figures below, this Dorje Sempa yab yum is atypical. At least 2 artists contributed, with a steadier hand rendering the main deity pair as compared to the flanking Kagyu & Drukpa Kagyu lineage figures. 📷: NMB #ThangkaTuesday #himalaya #bhutan #buddhistart

Sotheby's is about to auction off remains of the Buddha taken by colonial officials from India in 1898. "For the Buddhists who deposited them-as for Buddhists today-the gems, & his bone & ash, all belong to the Buddha & shouldn’t just be sold to the highest bidder." religionnews.com/2025/04/22/a...

Generosity is the theme of this #ThangkaTuesday. This charming Vajradhara (རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང་།), Holder of the Indestructible, is in a private collection shown to me years ago. I adore its simplicity & beauty, and that little extra head tilt. My gratitude to those who have shown me so much. #himalaya #bhutan

Maybe more mantras will help #bhutan #himalaya

Since 2020, I've noticed more images of & initiations for Black Manjushri (འཇམ་དབྱངས་ནག་པོ།), a form of the #Buddhist bodhisattva of wisdom believed to help those experiencing #anxiety, depression, or other disturbances in their mental state. #himalaya #thangkatuesday 📷: Zanabazar Museum

This timeline cleanse brought to you by Drukyel Dzong in Paro. #bhutan 🇧🇹

How to paint the overcoming of ego? In #Himalayan #Buddhism, vanquished ego & other obstacles to achievement can appear as a garland of severed & decaying heads strung on entrails, or as figures being trampled underfoot... 📷: Loeb (L) & Tang Museum (R) #ThangkaTuesday #Tibetanart #Buddhistart

In #Himalayan #Buddhism, compassion doesn't always cut it, especially for stubborn obstacles. In this mural, a Buddhist master flings a blazing ritual sculpture (torma; གཏོར་མ་) toward the enemies, who are in turn peppered with a rain of fiery daggers from the sky. 📷: Me, Paro, Bhutan #buddhistart

Escapism is the word of the day for today’s #ThangkaTuesday. Sick of/from samsara, #Buddhists can turn practice to one of several Pure Lands. Rebirth there means enlightenment is guaranteed, so matter how long it takes. I often teach this work from the Met showing the Land of Great Bliss (2004.139)

ལོ་གསར་བཀྲིས་བདེ་ལགས། Happy New Year! May the Year of the Wood Snake bring joy, good health, and happiness in abundance. 📷: Detail of a thangka of Tsepakme, Williams College Museum of Art (M.2024.22.11)

#ThangkaTuesday inspo: Tibetan equivalents of #Medieval goth manuscript lions. Some paintings of Buddhas & teachers have lions in the thrones, referencing the Buddha Shakyamuni (Lion of the Sakya Clan) #Buddhistart #Himalaya 📷: L: Detail, Drakpa Gyatso's throne R: Detail, Menlha's throne via HAR

Sickness stinks, but Buddhists in the #Himalaya can call on several deities to help heal. This #ThangkaTuesday highlights Ta Chak Khyung Sum (རྟ་ཕྱག་ཁྱུང་གསུམ།), a single deity who packs the power of three: blue Chana Dorje, the green horse head of Tandin, and white Khyung. #tibetanart #buddhism

Inspired by @bryandaniellowe.bsky.social's manuscript that was never meant to be read, here's another: a long consecration inscription on the back of a Tibetan portable scroll painting (thangka) of Milarepa, in the shape of a stūpa. #ManuscriptMonday 1/

Special Valentine's Day edition: the 'magnetizing' power deity Kurukulle. Her flowery bow, arrow, hook, & lasso are sure to snare that special someone...but only if you have the proper initiation, instructions & empowerment to try! #thangka #buddhistart #himalaya #valentinesday

Take a break from doomscrolling with #ThangkaTuesday, featuring green Tara (སྒྲོལ་ལྗང་།), who saves Buddhist faithful from the eight great fears, one of which is snakes. #TibetanBuddhism #BuddhistArt #Himalaya #Buddhist #Buddhism #TibetanArt

For #ThangkaTuesday, and for no other reason whatsoever, here are some #Buddhist images of leopards eating faces: Padmasambahva & Yeshe Tsogyal in a thangka of the problem-pinning deity Dorjé Phurbu, as tigers and leopards dig in to some face flesh nearby. #tibetanart #leopards #himalaya

Wisconsin-Madison conference: The submission portal for the 53rd Annual Conference on South Asia will open on Saturday, February 1, 2025, for all proposal types. The theme for this year's conference is Inequality. The 53rd ACSA is scheduled to meet in-person, October 22-25, 2025 (Wed-Sat). 1/

Excited to see treasuryoflives.bsky.social on Bluesky! For anyone interested in Tibetan/Himalayan Studies, this is an indispensable resource. treasuryoflives.org

Exhausted by evildoers? #Buddhists might consider Bhūtaḍāmara practice. A peek: “Make a fist with your left hand And extend your middle finger and thumb. This mudrā makes female spirits appear in person And causes the destruction of all evildoers." #ThangkaTuesday #Himalaya #ObstacleRemoval

How can evil be averted? Himalayan Buddhist traditions deploy protective imagery in paintings, murals, block prints and amulets. Images of weapons, inscriptions invoking powerful protectors, and other symbols are believed to keep baddies at bay. #ThangkaTuesday #himalaya #buddhism #protection

Research fellowships to spend a year visiting at Cambridge. Available to those based in the Global South & specializing in the arts and humanities—includes #Nepal, #Bhutan, #India, and #Mongolia. Apps due 28 Feb. #academicsky #humanities #fellowships #himalaya

Research fellowships up for grabs thanks to the Council of American Overseas Research Centers & the National Endowment for the Humanities—and include #Nepal, #Mongolia, #India, & #SriLanka, among others Apps due Jan. 25, so step lively! #CAORC #NEH #fellowships #academicsky #Himalaya

For #ThangkaTuesday, behold Dorje Drolo, a tiger-riding, flame-emitting manifestation of Padmasambhava. His fleet-footed Felidae ensured their safe transport to Paro Taktsang, a cliffside cave in western #Bhutan, where enemies were smote as insights were achieved. 📷 Shuzo Uemoto, pvt. collection

It’s #ThangkaTuesday! Evisceration is surely no fun, but when it does happen, hopefully it’s by two dragons who rip out your heart so that it falls into the eager, outstretched, waiting arms of non-human beings, who will almost certainly nom it. #buddhistart #tibetanart #himalayanart #buddhist

#ThangkaTuesday features a favorite #Buddhist master, Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), a treasure revealer from #Bhutan. Especially enthralling are the masterful details of the robes, throne, and cushions–dragons swirl, lotuses unfurl, and there's just auspiciousness everywhere. #buddhistart #painting

Under the wire, it's #ThangkaTuesday, featuring yogis and yoginis in caves–special shout out to @andrewquintman.bsky.social, who suggested these siddhas. Machik Labdrön (11th c.) is our first focus. Renowned for her mastery of severance practice (གཅོད་), thangka reflect she was a regular retreatant.

With grading done, it's finally the holiday break. Thus, this #ThangkaTuesday is dedicated to teeny tiny details of caves–sites of #Buddhist retreat, initiation, teaching, miracles, and treasures both revealed & concealed–and where nary an email is received.

Kicking off #ThangkaTuesday with a work from the National Museum of #Bhutan, featuring the nation's founder, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), surrounded by previous incarnations and lineage figures, some of whom are conflated with bodhisattvas. Photo by Lobsang Norbu, NMB

Finishing up final lectures, featuring personal faves that get students talking–contemporary #Tibetan and #Himalayan artists who repurpose, revisit, and reimagine traditional #buddhist imagery and symbols. L: Karma Phuntsok's Natural Buddha (karmaart.com) R: Shrine at Sera Gon, by Dudul Dorjay

Hello followers, who range from academics I know and/or admire to old friends with unexpected handles (looking at you, dandelion!), and a slew of new people. A heads up for what you'll find in my feed: details from traditional art, mostly #Buddhist, mostly #Himalayan

New starter pack: Art Historians of South Asia and the Himalaya. Niche for now, we need more colleagues #onhere, esp. those from the region. Please share names to add & encourage others. go.bsky.app/2cGRKRC #starterpack #SouthAsia #Himalaya #arthistory #visualculture #materialculture #academia

And for those whose work focuses on South Asia, any culture, tradition, or discipline—though likely humanities and social sciences at its core go.bsky.app/BugNwc7 This list too is a work in progress; please comment to be added or suggest adds. #southasia #academia #asianstudies #humanities

A Buddhist Studies Starter Pack is up and running! Envisioned as primarily academic, it’s also a place for librarians, publishers, and professional societies that work with Buddhist Studies to connect. It’s a work in progress—add and share widely. go.bsky.app/VQ843Yv #Buddhism #Buddhist #academia

All in on BlueSky now & looking for the Buddhist Studies starter pack! And if I can’t find it, I’ll make it.

A very happy #906day to all who celebrate

June was a whirlwind and a joy working with 16 entrepreneurs and founders from India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Congratulations to the inaugural class of UVA’s South Asian Entrepreneur Fellows! Inspired and excited to see what they achieve next 🙌

My favorite way to spend the day—time in temples with people who care about Bhutan. Day 3 of delivering art history & iconography training, and I’m loving learning from this group! #bhutan #buddhistart

So ready for time in tall mountains! Grateful for the opportunity to return, and to spend time talking and teaching about Himalayan art & iconography. Must resist urge to adopt adorable kittens living near my door… 🇧🇹 #Bhutan #Himalaya #buddhistart

Could not agree more!

3 curators, 2 amazing musicians, and 1 frozen buddha, all to celebrate Forms of Awakening! What a gift to talk through issues around Tibetan art with scholars & specialists, and to see such incredible turnout on a Saturday night. Exhibit closes 10 Dec. tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/...

After years of studying Buddhist paintings, I promise these are the cheesiest grins you'll see. These 2, and 6 more from the set, going up for auction Dec 07. Dated to 19c., which seems generous, as does the 6k-10k Euro estimate. Wonky inscriptions, too. #tibetanart #buddhiststudies #arthistory

Incredible art by talented artists of Tibetan heritage on view at Skidmore’s Tang Museum through 12/10! Traditional Tibetan Buddhist works alongside contemporary film, video, sculpture & photos exploring themes of landscape, architecture & body. #tibetanart #buddhism #himalaya #contemporaryart