compiled by Ken and Petra Sloan
15 August 2006

This thangka was painted during the years 2002-2004 by Karsang Lama [1], founder and head of the Dharmapala Thangka School and Studio[2] in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Incidentally, Karsang says he is not a Lama - that is just his family name). Karsang looks to the Nyingma lineage for guidance. Under Karsang’s direction, painters in his school had painted the same image earlier (1995-1997), which one can see in the collection of thangkas at www.thangka.de [3].
The motif of the 1000 Tara thangka was not new, but was uncommon due to the amount of work involved.

Karsang said he was not completely satisfied with the quality of the school-painted version, so he painted one himself, which can in contrast to the “school-painted” version be identified as a “master-painted” version. The 1000 Green Taras thangka which Tara Mandala has is the master-painted version painted personally by Karsang Lama.

In the fall of 2005 there was a major exhibition “The World of Tibetan Buddhism” at the Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg, Germany. In addition to the extensive exhibition Karsang Lama was invited by the museum curators to participate in the exhibition by demonstrating thangka painting in a museum gallery for some weeks, as well as hanging up an exhibit of selected “modern” thangkas for potential sale.

Petra and Ken Sloan, accompanied by their two daughters and a friend, visited the exhibition in early September of 2005. They were very impressed by this thangka, as well as by Karsang Lama himself, who was working demonstrating thangka painting. After a short discussion, it was decided that Petra and Ken would purchase the 1000 Green Taras Thangka. Their intuition was that it would find a fine home later at Tara Mandala, but if not it would be always welcome in their home in southern Germany.

After the museum exhibition was over, the thangka was shipped by Holm Triesch, (the European agent for Karsang Lama’s school and the energy behind the www.thangka.de web site), to Petra and Ken, where they and their guests enjoyed its presence until May of 2006, when they officially turned it over to Tsultrim Allione during her participation in a conference in Wuerzburg, Germany as a donation to support Tara Mandala.

Karsang has gone on to paint another major “master-painted” thangka, this time of the Kalachakra Mandala. You can view pictures of it and read about it on the web site of the Dharmapala School and Studio’s U.S. distributor, Buddha Offering[5].

Biography of Karsang Lama[6]

Great Master Painter Karsang Lama, is the top thangka painter in Kathmandu, a national treasure in Nepal, and a world renowned painter of traditional thangkas. Karsang Lama's illustrious career has brought him to exhibit paintings in museums around the world. His thangkas hang in monasteries throughout Asia, and he has trained many of the top painters working today.

Karsang Lama is a third generation painter. He was taught in the monastery as a child by his grandfather in their home village on the Tibetan border. He came to Kathmandu at the age of 12 to begin painting professionally in order to support his family. At the age of 22, he opened his own studio and established the first fair labor practices for thangka painters.

He shortened the work day from 16 hours to 8 hours, paid fair wages, and established an active education program. His labor practices soon became standard, and his painting school and studio remain the home of the best traditional artists.

Karsang Lama helped to establish three orphanages in the Kathmandu Valley, housing and educating more than 100 orphans at a time. 20% of the sale of each painting goes directly to the orphanages.

Karsang Lama's paintings are cherished around the world. He has painted commissions for religious leaders, political leaders, monasteries, and museums. His works have shown in museums in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the USA.

[1] Bio and description Karsang Lama at http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/Dharmapala/karsang-e.htm
[2] The description of the school is at http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/Dharmapala/dcenglish.htm
[3] A picture of the “school-painted” version of the 1000 Green Taras is at
http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/Gallery-1/Tara/2-4/1000tara.htm
[4] Info about related 18th century 1008 Green Taras Thangka at http://www.tibetart.com/image.cfm/14.html
[5] At http://www.buddhaoffering.com/kalachakra.html
[6] From http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/Dharmapala/karsang-e.htm