Drawing the Buddha

“Tibetan Thangke” drawing class lead by Leonardo Ceglie


Tibetan Thangke. Sera Monastery, Lhasa - Tibet 2005

Thangkes, objects of contemplation and veneration, are of great help for tantric practices, which require a strong ability to visualize divinities sand mandalas They often represent the most important episodes in the life of Buddha and his disciples, as well as miracles of Lamas and of the most famous yogis. Our first subject in learning how to execute the traditional Tibetan Thangke, will be "Buddha Shakyamuni" portrayed with his right hand touching the earth, bearing witness to his complete Enlightenment.

What makes the this art form unique is that the Thangke is painted to then be used as an object of meditation to realise the qualities of the divinity represented.

Course Programme

The course is reserved to Kunpen Lama Gangchen members and is open to participants of all ages. No particular artistic knowledge or drawing ability is required. The course’s focus is to learn the precious value, the significance and the way in which the subjects of the Tibetan Thangkes are portrayed, and not necessarily how to reproduce one artistically perfect.

Material necessary for the course:

A4- sized album with semi-rough paper
Pencil, rubber and sharpener
T-square
Compass
12 Coloured pencils

The course is reserved to Kunpen Lama Gangchen members and requires enrolment. The cost for 8 lessons is 130 euro (made in three payments, if necessary). A certificate of participation will be given out at the end of the course. For those who wish, it is also possible to participate in only a few lessons, the cost of being 18 euro per lesson.

For further information you can call the Centre’s office (0229010263) or send an email to info@kunpengangchen.it

Brief biography of Leonardo Ceglie

“My name is Leonardo, Duccio for my friends, and I was born in 1954 in Bari, Italy. I met Lama Gangchen in 1984 in Pomaia (Pisa) during his first visit to the Lama Tzong Kapa Institute.
For the occasion, I prepared a small gift: a little painted Buddha on canvas. Rinpoche smiled at me and not only accepted my painting but he also commissioned another immediately. He asked me to paint a blue Buddha for him, the Medicine Buddha. After, he seemed satisfied with my work and asked me for another much larger Medicine Buddha. He wanted a gigantic Blue Buddha! When I came back to him he asked me this time to paint the historic Buddha Shakyamuni and like this, I continued painting... and Rinpoche continued commissioning new Tangkes of Divinities. I began to follow the Lama on his frequent pilgrimages in Tibet, Nepal, India and Mongolia, Europe, Russia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil... taking full advantage of every opportunity to deepen my knowledge of sacred Tibetan art. In 1993 Lama Gangchen began teaching "NGALSO" Tantric Self-Healing Meditation. While collaborating on the drawings necessary for the book “Self-Healing II” (published by L.G. Peace Publication), I began to think of the possibility of teaching to paint the Buddha using this method, which facilitates the approach to Tibetan paining and to Tantric meditation.”

For more information, visit Leonardo Ceglie’s website "Peace Art Studio".