Illustrations
I. The Translator and the Editor |
preceding Plate II |
From a photograph of the Translator and the Editor in Tibetan dress, taken in Gangtok, Sikkim, during the year 1919.
II. Folios 35a and 67a of the Bardo Thödol MS. |
Frontispiece |
A photographic reproduction (about two-thirds of the original size). In the original the illuminations are in colour (now much faded) painted on the folios (cf. p. 68).
The painting on the upper folio illustrates, with the colours, emblems, and orientation in strict accord with the traditions of Tibetan monastic art, the description in the text of the united maṇḍalas, or divine conclaves, of the Peaceful Deities of the First to the Sixth Day of the Bardo that dawn thus in one complete conclave on the Sixth Day (cf. pp. 118–26). In the central circle (Centre) is the Dhyānī Buddha Vairochana, embraced by his shakti, or divine spouse, the Mother of Infinite Space. In the next circle, each likewise embraced by his shakti, are the four Dhyānī Buddhas, who, with Vairochana, constitute the maṇḍala of the Five Dhyānī Buddhas. In the outermost circle are typical Bodhisattvas and other deities who accompany the Five Dhyānī Buddhas (cf. pp. 118–20); and in the four small outer circles the four female Door-Keepers of the complete conclave (cf. p. 120).
The painting on the lower folio similarly illustrates, in colours, emblems, and orientation, the united maṇḍalas of the Wrathful Deities of the Eighth to the Fourteenth Day that dawn thus in one complete conclave on the Fourteenth Day (cf. pp. 143–6). In the cruciform design at the centre are the three-headed Herukas of the Buddha, Vajra, Ratna, Padma, and Karma Order, each with his shakti, that dawn, maṇḍala by maṇḍala, from the Eighth to the Twelfth Day (cf. pp. 136–41). The outer circle contains representations of the various animal-headed deities that dawn on the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth Day (cf. pp. 141–6). In the four small outer circles are the Four Yoginis of the Door (cf. pp. 145–6).
The translation of the text on the two folios is indicated by special markings on pages 120 and 144.
III. Effigy of the Dead Person |
p. 21 |
A reproduction (slightly reduced) of a copy of a Tibetan printed Chang-ku paper.
