Stupa

Chortens - the Tibetan term for stupas - and mani walls testify to the deep religious beliefs of the inhabitants of the Dolpo valleys. At forks in the road, at the entrance to the village, in the fields or on the way to the village gompa: chortens and mani walls are constant companions. The more important the sacred place, the taller, longer, and more magnificent are the sacred structures erected by saints and lay people as testimonies of the faith. 

For centuries, Buddha Shakyamuni was often depicted as a stupa alongside other symbols. Even in ancient Indian, pre-Buddhist times, ascetics revered as saints were buried in the yoga position. So it is not surprising that the proportions of the Buddha can also be found in the stupa and vice versa. In the following image the stupa and the Buddha figure are drawn inside each other to illustrate their shared proportions. Minor differences between individual painting schools/teaching traditions are possible, but are neglected here. The period of painting in Gandhara lasted only relatively briefly during the second and third centuries, but it nevertheless became formative for the depictions of Buddhist deities. This art spread to Afghanistan, Kashmir, Guge, further to Inner Asia and China. Painting came to Dolpo with Tibetan Buddhism from the area of ​​the Guge Kingdom in western Tibet. Even if the old representations differ significantly from the newer ones for the expert, the influence from other areas such as the areas of the Silk Road is greater than that of the development over time. The definitive books with painting instructions were written by Men la Ddhondrup in the twelfth century and have been passed down from master painter to student ever since. A relative measurement system is used for Tibetan Buddhist painting. This means it depends on the ratio of the individual dimensions, not the absolute length. A relative unit of measurement means that 1 Sor can be 1mm, but also 10 cm. The sor is the small and probably most common unit of measurement. It refers to a finger width. Twelve sor result in a shayal that corresponds exactly to the height of the head.