Dharmapala Thangka CentreSchool of Thangka Painting

In Buddhist philosophy, a giant mountain called Mount Sumeru was believed to stand at the centre of the world.

This huge mountain towers up in the centre enclosed by a series of eight concentric oceans and seven mountain ranges. The outermost of these, called Cakravada Mountain, is located at the very edge of the world, and in the ocean just inside it [i.e. the outermost ocean] islands are depicted to the north, south, east and west of Mount Sumeru respectively.

The quadrangular, mountain shines in the colors of the four precious stone, from which he is assembled sapphire, ruby, topaz / emerald and diamond. Around the mountain the ocean shines in the four colors of the four sides of Mount Meru.

Mt. Meru [= Kailash] is sacred to the Hindus, the Buddhist, the Jains, and the Bonpos. For the Hindus, the mountain represents the seat of Shiva. For the Buddhists, a terrestrial projection of the cosmic Mandala of Dyani Buddhas and Boddhisatvas.

The Kailash stands in a remote corner of Western Tibet. The area was opened for foreigners 1980.

The main deity in centre is a three-faced manifestation of Dhyani Buddha Vairocana [Tib.: rnam.par.snan.mdzad], he is surrounded by Amitabha [red, above], Ratnasambhava [yellow, left] and two Akshobhya [blue, right and below].

The "Four Heavenly Kings" are the deities who lives on upper slopes of the axial mountain Meru in the ancient Buddhist cosmology. Sometimes called the Guardian Kings of the Directions, they are Virudhaka [King of the south], Virupaksha [king of west], Vaishravana [king of the north] und Dhritarashtra [King of the east].

Vaishravana is greatly worshiped in Tibet as an important wealth deity. All of them are depicted on this painting.