“This image of Palden Lhamo, Rangjung Gyalmo, which punishes enemies of the Dharma and severs/subdues evil ones, was offered by Jetsun Choying Dorje [10th Karmapa] at the end of the Dog Year in the place of Jang [Lijiang] at the essential drop/mandala ground of Gyal-thang for consecration, as requested by heart son, Kuntu Zangpo.”–inscription on the front of the Tenth Karmapa’s artwork of Rangjung Gyalmo དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ་རང་བྱུང་རྒྱལ་མོའི་སྐུ་བརྙན་བསྟན་དགྲ་ལ་ཆད་པ་གདུག་པ་ཚར་གཅོད་འདི་ཐུགས་སྲས་ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པ་ལྟར་རྗེ་བཙུན་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་རྡོ་རྗེས་འཇང་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་ཐང་གི་ས་ཡི་ཐིག་ལེར་ཁྱི་ལོའི་ལོ་མཇུག་སྐུ་རིམ་ལ་གནང་བའོ།
For the Dharma Protector Day today, I offer this new report on a Tibetan researcher’s presentation of the 10th Karmapa’s artwork of his female protector, Remati (Rangjung Gyalmo) at an international conference in Chengdu, China.
Recently, in the first week of September 2025 -in between attending the European teachings of 9th Gyalton Rinpoche- I travelled alone (as I always do!) to Chengdu, China for the first time. One of the main reasons I went there was to attend an international conference hosted by the University of Sichuan and Tibet University on history and culture on the Silk Road (5th-6th September), at which several European and North American scholars and art historians, together with scholars and researchers from Sichuan and Tibet came together for an amazing line-up of short presentations on various topics. International speakers and participants included well-known art historian and researcher Amy Heller, and Jeff Watt, the North American executive director of Himalayan Art Resources website.
I will write more about my visit to Chengdu, the Buddhist temples and Tibetan quarter I visited, as well as the conference itself soon. I was treated with friendship and kindness as guest by the Chinese hosts, and even invited to a prestigious invite-only event of a major private art exhibition hosted by the brewery company, Longjiu at a huge factory they had converted to an art gallery space, with free accommodation at their five star hotel there too. Sadly, due to lack of time and other personal reasons, I declined their kind offer but was able to visit a private collection of the Dargye Museum in Chengdu before I left (more on that soon).
However, one of the highlights (for me) of the conference was given by a Tibetan doctoral student of Sichuan University, Tenzin Yangkar, on the 10th Karmapa’s stunning artwork of his personal protector, Rangjung Gyalmo (Remati). I have written about this Dharma Protector myself before, but this painting is unique and stunning not only in terms of style but also in terms of the historical import, when, where and by whom it was painted at one of the most violent upheavals and destructive events in Tibetan history, the Mongol-Gelugpa military takeover during the 17th Century, when the 10th Karmapa and other great Karma Kagyu masters were forced to flee for their lives into neighbouring Yunnan, where he wad forced to live in exile for over twenty years never being allowed to return to Tsurphu until just before his “suspicious” death after meeting the 5th Dalai Lama. The Mongol-Gelugpa forced murdered the Tibetan King of Tsang while he was imprisoned by throwing his body in a bag into a river while he was still alive (so much for Buddhist compassion!). I have always felt karmically (and emotionally) connected to the 10th Karmapa, his attendant Kuntu Zangpo, Je Taranatha and the 8th Tai Situpa (said to be an incarnation of Taranatha). Seeing this painting and its description also gave rise to profound feelings/memories that cannot be described, almost as if I was there when it was painted. There is deep emotion and experience in the work, which no academic analysis could ever capture, but the facial expression, colours and so on, say it in a way, words cannot.
Here is my summary report below on Yangkar’s interesting presentation, with some photos (which she gave me permission to share, but was unable to give me the presentation itself to use). Yangkar presented it in Chinese, with simultaneous AI translation (some of which was hard to follow and also probably inaccurate). So sometimes I can only provide images of the slides themselves.
I also add some personal observations based on my research on the 10th Karmapa’s life and works, and the lack of acknowledgement by scholars and art historians (East and West, including Jeff Watt (Himalayan Art Resources) and Tenzin Yangkar who both spoke at the conference) of how these previous, sacred objects came to be in the hands of the Gelugpas and then art collectors. I have mentioned this before in my own work about Jeff Watt (HAR) and got the opportunity to ask him about this in person at the conference (see below).
For example, Yangkar refers to the circumstances of the 10th Karmapa’s fleeing Tibet into Lijiang, Yunnan as “political conflict” without even mentioning the Mongolian-Gelugpa invasion, theft and destruction there that cause the 10th Karmapa (and hundreds of others) to flee for his life, leaving all behind him.
Yangkar does mention that the 10th Karmapa was influenced by the Han Chinese painting style, but omits to cite the work of contemporary scholars such as Karl Debreczeny whose research also indicates the clear influence of the indigenous Naxi culture and art on the exiled and “under attack” 10th Karmapa in the Lijiang area at that time. I also got a chance to briefly discuss the history of the artwork with Yangkar and the circumstances in which the Gelugpas violently seized “ownership” of it (see below).
In her presentation, Tenzin Yangkar refers to a new monograph published by Ulrich von Schroeder, a Swiss man who collects Himalayan and Tibetan art, entitled The Tenth Karmapa: Tibet’s Greatest Artist (Garuda Books (2025) see free download here). As I have no access to this new research at the moment, I cannot read what he says about the artwork. But hope to get a full copy soon [1]. Interestingly, Bonhams Hong Kong are holding an auction of some of Schroeder’s collected works on 30 October 2025. Perhaps some of these objects and works need to be returned to the Karmapa and Karma Kagyu Tsurphu estate and administration though in Tibet itself?
Yet, as I detail below (and in my brief conversations with both Watt and Yangkar) within the Himalayan and Tibetan Buddhist art history and academic communities, very rarely are English-language scholars and researchers talking about the origin, lineage and ownership of sacred artworks and objects of those such as the Karmapas and the Karma Kagyu and their “theft” by Gelugpa sectarians never to be returned. What is the reason for that “silence” on original ownership? I leave readers to ponder and decide that.
Ending on a positive note, the conference itself was a major success for the Chinese organisers and participants and symbolised a new chapter of international discussions and art and culture events with scholars from India, China, Tibet, Europe and North America. In addition, it was pleasing to see how many of the participants not only as researchers, but as heads of departments from the universities involved were women. An example that some still male-dominated Buddhist cultures/countries would do well to emulate. Thus, overall it was an event I felt honoured and delighted to attend and be present at.
Music? The Melody of Devotion a song devoted to all 17 Karmapas, performed in Chinese, Know Your Enemy by Rage Against the Machine, and Protection by Massive Attack.
Written and compiled by Adele Tomlin, 20th September 2025.
Tenzin Yangkar’s presentation in Chengdu on the 10th Karmapa’s personal artwork of his personal protector, Rangjung Gyalmo (Remati)
Tenzin Yangkar’s presentation was a textual analysis of the artwork by the 10th Karmapa, Choying Dorje of his personal protector, Rangjung Gyalmo (referred to as Palden Lhamo in the presentation).
The 10th Karmapa’s stunning and precious artwork is held at the (formerly Gelugpa sectarian power fortress) Potala Palace collection. Housed there after it had been stolen by the Gelugpa sectarians during the Mongolian army invasion that imposed Gelugpa dictatorial rule (via the institution of the Dalai Lama- a Mongolian name) over the whole of Tibet.
Yangkar is a doctoral student at Sichuan University, and seems to also work for the Potala Palace collection. I hope one day to be able to visit Lhasa and see that artwork in person, although Yangkar told me the painting is not available for public view (like many artworks housed there). I met her briefly after the presentation, and she kindly gave me permission to use photos I took of it during the conference for this article.
In her analysis presentation (see more photos below) Yangkar refers to the new monograph by Ulrich Von Schroeder (mentioned above) in which he explains the painting’s subject as about “auspiciousness” and that from the inscription it was created in 1658, when the 10th Karmapa was 54 years old and would have been based in Yunnan, China.
Interestingly (from my own analysis) I note that the female Protector is depicted alone (normally she is riding horseback in union with Mahakala Bernagchen (black-cloaked one) and seems to be on an island among a moat of red blood water. I have been unable to read Ulrich’s analysis of it.
Yangkar mentions that the backing of the painting has a yello faux leather lining underneath and how the Tibetan inscription is on the front of the painting itself. There are two figures at the front and back of the horse, central Protector, one pulling the reins and the holding the back. Due to the hanging down breasts, both appear to be women/female. Yangkar considers that these may be like Raksha consorts similar to statues seen in Andhara Pradesh. She mentions how some birds are sitting atop corpses in the red-blood water surrounding the island.
Yangkar then moves to the colour composition, which splits the artwork into two sections, the dark-black sky and the red-blood water. There are also rock piles ahead on which are colourful treasures, which shows colour in the sky and the space between earth and space.
Although the images depicted are rare, Yangkar asserts that each image is extremely rich with natural expressions and tension. But that the use of colour is restrained but not monotonous.
Dating of the painting’s mention/entry into the Potala Palace collection
Although, the AI translation of Yangkar’s presentation was not easy to follow, she then refers to some texts that mention the painting, and thus asserts that it was between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Century that this particular painting found its way to the Potala Palace collection and into what she terms the “five regions”. But that it was not until the late 1990s that archiving research on the painting began to appear.
The Tibetan inscription on the painting itself
The inscription on the painting (which I have quickly translated into English here, as it is not available on the HAR website either), says:
དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ་རང་བྱུང་རྒྱལ་མོའི་སྐུ་བརྙན་བསྟན་དགྲ་ལ་ཆད་པ་གདུག་པ་ཚར་གཅོད་འདི་ཐུགས་སྲས་ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པ་ལྟར་རྗེ་བཙུན་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་རྡོ་རྗེས་འཇང་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་ཐང་གི་ས་ཡི་ཐིག་ལེར་ཁྱི་ལོའི་ལོ་མཇུག་སྐུ་རིམ་ལ་གནང་བའོ།
“This image of Palden Lhamo Rangjung Gyalmo, which punishes enemies of the Dharma and severs/subdues evil ones, was offered by Jetsun Choying Dorje [10th Karmapa] at the end of the Dog Year in the place of Jang [Lijiang] at the thigle ground of Gyaltang for consecration, as requested by his heart son, Kuntu Zangpo.”
此惩处歼灭教敌之班丹拉姆让琼杰姆尊像, 系应心传弟子贡都桑布之请,由至尊却英多吉在绛域杰塘之境, 为狗年年末敬事而绘。
For reference purposes, Kuntu Zangpo was the 10th Karmapa’s trusted and main attendant during his forced exile for twenty years outside Tibet in Lijiang, Yunnan due to violence and suppression by the Mongolian-Gelུུugpa military forces. For more on the 10th Karmapa in Yunnan, and the five main Karma Kagyu monasteries there, see my recent e-book on my pilgrimage and research there here.
Comparisons with similar paintings by the 10th Karmapa
The painting referred to by Yangkar is that of Damchen Garwa Nagpo (English: the Oath Bound Vajra Blacksmith), who is a wrathful, oath-bound protector deity in Tibetan Buddhism, known as the “Blacksmith”. He rides a goat, holds a hammer and bellows, and guards the Nyingma tradition and the Terma (revealed treasures). Initially a subjugated Tibetan deity, he was converted by Padmasambhava and later became popular in various Buddhist traditions, especially from the 17th century onwards.
According to the inscription this was painted by the 10th Karmapa Choying Dorje (1604-1674). In the catalogue of artistic works created by Choying Dorje, compiled by Nenang Pawo Trinle Gyatso (1649/50-1699), this composition was following the archaic Chi’u painting style and completed in 1655. Tenzin Yangkar states (from the AI translation) that this painting was started by the 10th Karmapa when he was in Yunnan in 1647.
“At the age of eight, he [10th Karmapa] searched for and constructed the mandalas described in the Kalachakra. He also created images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in paintings, carvings, and reliefs, which were pure nectar for the eyes. Although the monastic seat was damaged, it was quickly restored. He received the transmission of the collected works of Mikyö Dorje [8th Karmapa]. He learned the art of traditional medicine painting from Tsering, the reincarnation of Lhodrak Chukhyer. Then, according to the wishes of the Tsang Desi, he went to Kyetsal. After offering, he departed for Namdu. On the third day of the miracle month in the Dog year, he arrived at Kanam Sewagang. He displayed the Thangka of the Sixteen Arhats and held a great prayer festival until the fifteenth. (taken from the Complete liberation of the precious Karma Kamtsang lineage of the Eight Great Accomplishments, a Crystal Rosary of Infinite jewels account by 8th Tai Situpa)”
This section of text, roughly translated, reads:
“Then, he [10th Karmapa] extensively performed the New Year and Monlam offerings of the Earth Dog year. He prepared handwritten instructions for creating a unchanging image of Kuntu Zangpo’s mother, along with the annual rituals. He also prepared handwritten instructions for creating images of Amitayus, Tara, and Avalokiteshvara for the annual rituals. He adorned Kuntu Zangpo’s neck with auspicious items of gold, turquoise, and conch, stating that it would be flawless for a year.
He created two images of Baso’s Avalokiteshvara and a relief sculpture of Tara, among others. He commissioned Gyerpa Lhakyab to create a handwritten painting of the Seventeen Arhats. On the evening of the fifteenth of the fourth month, he dreamed that Gyaltsab Drakpa Chokyang rode away on a white horse. It was said that on the third of the fourth month, the master and disciple had passed away peacefully, so he commissioned the creation of a Thangka painting of the Sixteen Arhats of Thubchen as a memorial service.”
Origin, ownership and lineage of Tibetan Buddhist artworks and absence of accurate reporting of that by contemporary art historians and academics (in Europe, North America and Asia)
As a conclusion, and more general note, the origin and “stolen” artifacts debate over art ownership is one which still overshadows the collections of many western (and Asian) museum and private collectors. Many argue that any works that were not freely given by their owners (and/or whose origin/lineage is not clear or was potentially “stolen”) should be returned to the original “owners”, or at the very least that should be clearly stated when such artworks are exhibited.
Justified demands by post-colonialists, for example, for Europeans and North Americans to return art and sacred objects back to their origin nations (such as India) pose an interesting question for those historians who document and preserve art and curate such exhibitions. While, on the one hand, it is good that such precious and important historical objects are on view for the public to see, the question as to “ownership” and how those objects were acquired is also an important one, ethically and intellectually.
As I have written before here, the sixteen Arhat statues of the 5th Karmapa, gifted to him by the then Chinese Emperor, were stolen and kept by the Gelugpas in Drepung Monastery for three hundred years, after the foreign Mongolian invasion and institution of the Dalai Lama political and spiritual leadership by force in Tibet.
Yet, that history and lineage is rarely if ever mentioned by curators and researchers like Jeff Watt, the director and chief curator of Zhiguan Museum, Beijing, a visiting professor at Sichuan University, and executive director and author of the Himalayan Art Resources website—a comprehensive online database and resource for Himalayan art and iconography.
Brief conversation with Jeff Watt of HAR about the Gelugpa sectarian takeover of Tibet and the lineage and ownership of Kagyu and Karmapa’s artworks
It was interesting to see Jeff Watt, director of the Himalayan Art Resources website resource at the conference. I have never met or spoken to Watt before, but an opportunity presented itself to ask his opinion about this neglect in reporting origin and lineage of artworks on the HAR website.
Watt is a towering man physically (I think 7 feet tall or more), was dressed in black and was smoking outside (not a yogi!) when I first got a chance to ask him in person. He first responded that the HAR website is not scholarly and so he does not go into that level of detail (which is a fair and obvious point).
However, when I further queried as to what he thought of the theft and mass destruction by the Gelugpas relating to the Karmapas’ and Karma Kagyu property and sacred works, and how that relates to the “ownership” of artworks and sacred objects, Watt rather glibly responded: “that was the Mongolians”, as if the Gelugpa sectarianism had nothing to do with it.
I then responded, that one could not say it was “just the Mongolians” as there is clear historical evidence of persistent and ongoing Gelugpa political sectarianism and domination there for centuries afterwards. As evidenced by the mass destruction and theft of Karma Kagyu (and Jonang and Nyingma) texts, property and artworks, such as the sixteen arhat statues and so on. Remarkably, Watt then shot back (half-joke, half-serious) that it was because Je Taranatha (the Jonang and Kālacakra master) had slept with and fathered the 5th Dalai Lama (a piece of information I had myself reported after being informed about it by the scholar Dr. David Templeman).
In any case, joking or not (and I think he was joking), it is notable (and slightly worrying) that Watt would respond in that way to such a serious and important aspect of Tibetan Buddhist art and intellectual history. However, is that because Watt himself is also perhaps “guilty” of an unacknowledged/subtle Gelugpa/Dalai Lama bias when it comes to his presentation of artworks, and objects on the HAR website? Or because, like many Tibetan exiles, and the scholarly community, they are still not fully aware of the Gelugpa sectarian history and destruction in Tibet itself?
Similarly, Tenzin Yangkar’s presentation does not mention the “ownership” lineage of the 10th Karmapa’s paintings and artworks either and how they passed into Gelugpa hands, and nor does Ulrich von Schroeder in his new monograph.
Some people glibly say to me when I raise these issues in writing or verbally that “history is history” as if it is not important. Yet, if that is so, why is there so much contemporary demand for artworks and sacred objects to be returned to their original owners in relation to European, Asian and North American art collections (private and public)? Or if the Gelugpas stole (or destroyed) them is that a “sacred cow” that Tibetans and Tibetologists do not want to mention?
Scholar-art historian Karl Debrezceny and Dr. Cecile Ducher, are the only people who mention these incidents in more detail, in particular, in relation to the 10th Karmapa and 8th Tai Situpa’s personal accounts of that time period and what happened to the Karma Kagyu. Even then, it seems to be watered-down/diplomatically expressed so that “minimum offence” is caused to Gelugpa sectarians, and those who follow the 14th Dalai Lama.
However, this kind of “double standards” is not consistent with accurate, objective scholarship. European and North American academics in particular, pride themselves on political and religious “neutrality” and yet when it comes to the Gelugpa’s stash of stolen objects annd property, their neutrality is questionable as it often glosses over (or even ignores) important historical incidents and facts.
When I briefly met and spoke with Tenzin Yangkar about the history of the 10th Karmapa and his artworks, she seemed a little surprised to learn about it but also reluctant to give an opinion (which is understandable considering her location and position). However, she told me she was Tibetan and asked me “are you saying the Dalai Lama is bad”?. I responded that as a researcher, I was not saying the Dalai Lama as a person is good or bad. That I was just reporting the historical facts and accounts, that clearly show the Dalai Lama institution itself was violently and forcefully imposed on the other lineages and Tibet by the Mongolian army and that mass destruction, theft and censorship of the Kagyu, Nyingma and Jonang lineages occurred for the following three centuries under their dictatorial rule. This is not an opinion but historical fact and backed up by academic research on the topic. She then left our conversation to speak to “her friend” Jeff Watt.
In any case, it was good to meet Tenzin Yangkar (as well as other upcoming Chinese and Tibetan researchers) and get the chance to hear her presentation, although I would have liked to have asked her more questions about her research and also other paintings held at the Potala Palace (formerly a Gelugpa sectarian power base) now controlled and owned by the Chinese government. A tragic karmic turning of tables for the Gelugpas (and those that supported them), if ever there was one. Yet, one that many in the research and art communities do not see, or do not want to see!
Endnotes
[1] Also, some of Schroeder’s art collection is also being auctioned off at Bonhams Hong Kong in October this year too. Bonhams have recently published an interview with Schroeder in which he briefly discusses his life and collection: https://bonhams.shorthandstories.com/ulrich-von-schroeder/
Always looking to better understand the connection between Damchen Garwa Nagpo and Dorje Legpa. This could help my practice.
Wow.. superb analyze of tibetan art work and things done to tibetan lineages by their friends in dharma compassionate Gelugpas!:) . Over last some years ( now everybody noticed time is pasing with speed of light ! ) and countless articles your pen became so sharp and fun that I have to say earnestly that in area of intelectual dharma your writings are breath taking. Simply I can not recollect when I was reading something better then your writing. CONGATULATIONS !!!
Thank you! How kind of you to say so, and happy to hear you find them breathtaking, sharp, fun, wise and insightful. May we all attain the fully awakened state.