Dharmapala

Dharmapala Defender of Dharma Acrylic on canvas 36" x 48"

Dharmapalas are protectors or guardian deities, tasked with protecting the sacred teachings of Buddhism know as the Dharma. This Dharmapala is one of eight who are intended to remind us to guard the mind from false securities. It is said that enlightenment does not consist of imagining figments of light, but of making the darkness conscious. In Buddhist iconography, they are invariably depicted as fearsome beings with blue, black or red skin; and a fierce expression with protruding fangs, as can be seen here. Though dharmapalas have a terrifying appearance, they are all bodhisattvas - embodiments of compassion that act in an extremely wrathful way for the sake of sentient beings. In the celestial realm of peaceful and wrathful deities, there is no escape from our own nature; each icon is a minion of our own innermost energies.