The Great Guru Rinpoche
Guru Rinpoche (Main figure)
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Sacred Guru Rinpoche thangka with Mother Green Tara on his left and World Peace Protector Dorje Shugden on his right. Then two Nyingma protectors at the bottom which are Dorje Drolo and Garuda.
Despite contemporary misconceptions about the pairing of Guru Rinpoche and Dorje Shugden, a number of important antique thangkas depicting both deities on the same painting do exist. Unfortunately, Guru Rinpoche’s wrathful manifestation of Dorje Drolo in recent times is often mistakenly depicted stepping upon a monk-like figure wearing a round hat representing Dorje Shugden, thus reinforcing the wrong notion that Dorje Shugden is a spirit. However, this does not alter the facts of older antique thangkas that showcase Dorje Shugden as an authentic enlightened Dharma protector.
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In Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche is regarded as an emanation of the Buddha Amitabha. Many practitioners have turned to thangkas as inspiration for their practice and relied on the symbolisms of the paintings of deities. Here an old sacred Guru Rinpoche thangka with Mother Green Tara and World Peace Protector Dorje Shugden has proven that centuries ago, many high lamas, and many more practitioners has relied on Dorje Shugden practice. Beautiful thangka.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.