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Ariana Maki

@arianam.bsky.social

1.3K followers 450 following 200 posts

Himalayan & South Asian art history, Bhutan, Tibet, Buddhist art & ritual. Fulbright Scholar (2x) & NEH-Mellon Fellow. Also likes: decentering the canon, digital humanities, open access, Pictured Rocks. lifeofthebuddha.org | bhutan.virginia.edu

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jan 28

Exhausted by evildoers? #Buddhists might consider Bhūtaḍāmara practice. A peek:

“Make a fist with your left hand
And extend your middle finger and thumb.
This mudrā makes female spirits appear in person
And causes the destruction of all evildoers."

#ThangkaTuesday #Himalaya #ObstacleRemoval

A vertical format Himalayan painting. The center of the composition is dominated by a standing, dark blue, four armed, two legged figure encircled in red and orange flames, standing on top of a personified obstacle that lies between the main figure's feet and multicolored blue, pink, orange, and green lotus petals–a flower that signifies the main figure's enlightened actions. Below are three small seated Buddhist masters, each on their own louts, wearing monastic robes and hats indicating they are from the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions. At bottom left is a shirtless seated adept, or practitioner who has separated themselves from society. He also sits on a lotus and is surrounded by a halo. A lay devotee in white robes with a red halo sits cross-legged on a lotus raising his hands in respect. Across the top is a register of five figures; the two on the ends are bodhisattvas, and between them are three Buddhas. Below each bodhisattva is a master teacher. To the left is a teacher from the Geluk tradition and on the right is a Sakya practitioner. Together, nearly all the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are present. The main image, Bhutadamara Vajrapani, holds a lasso–used to bind obstacles–in his left hand, and a dorjé, or symbol of the indestructible, in his upraised right hand. His remaining two hands are crossed at the wrists at the center of his chest, with his red palms facing outward and little fingers linked in a distinctive gesture associated with this form of Vajrapani.

14th century sculpted image of Bhutadamara Vajrapani from the Gyantse Kumbum in central Tibet. The main figure is in the same dark blue, four armed, two legged form surrounded by flames and standing on a figure lying down on a lotus base. On either side is a smaller dark blue, two armed, standing attendant figure, each of whom also stands on his own louts and holds his own dorje implement in his upraised proper right hand.

Another horizontal format thangka of Bhutadamara Vajrapani, this time with a more open landscape surrounding him. Each of the corners is occupied by a bodhisattva seated on a lotus: at top right is the four-armed white Chenrezig Chakzhipa (Cintamani Lokesvara), an embodiment of compassion; bottom right is the eight armed, three-faced, white long life deity Namgyelma (Ushnishavijaya); bottom left reveals the white long life deity Drolkar (White Tara), recognizable by her 7 eyes (Saptalocana); and top left, seated amidst clouds, is Norgyunma (Vasundhara), the golden goddess of good harvest and abundance. Directly above Vajrapani's head is a small gold circle, in which appears to be the longku (sambhogakaya) form of Mitrupa (Aksobhya). The flames around the main figure are pink and orange, while the midground on either side of him show recessive distance through its small, rounded hills.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jul 29

Thinking a lot about karma and opportunities to witness it ripening…

Thus, #ThangkaTuesday features the Wheel of Becoming (Bhavachakra; སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ།) which illustrates #Buddhist ideas of cause & effect, realms of rebirth, aka samsara.

📷: Natl Gallery Prague via HAR

#himalaya #buddhistart #karma

A Buddhist painting centered on a large circle divided into six sections like spokes of a wheel. In each section are small figures, human, animal, and various non-humans. At the center are representations of poisons and their effects. The diagram is superimposed on the front of a humanoid figure with bulging eyes and a fanged mouth.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jul 23

It’s sublime, isn’t it? Next time you and your crew are up, give me a shout—our place is nearby

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jul 23

A buff-colored, striated sandstone formation juts out from pine trees and into Lake Superior. The water is jade green, and cerulean and slate blues.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jun 25

So it actually should be called the Pingala sequence…

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jun 25

Another site doing things with AI that none of their users want—this time academia.edu making AI-generated “podcasts” about our scholarship…

#AcademicSky

A person wearing a plaid skirt and black sweater stands with their back against the wall, labeled “me”, facing them is another person wearing similar clothing but with the addition of black tights. The second person is labeled “Any Company”. They are standing so that they are viewed from behind, and are holding a tuba up on their shoulder so that its bell obscures the first person’s face, seemingly swallowing them. The tuba is labeled “AI”.

Personal note: AI is a an energy hungry hallucination-prone bullshit machine being forced on us by desperate VC d bags and tech bros who want to recoup their investments. AI makes us dumber.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jun 25

This is horrid. Open access is a gift and the ideal, but if academia dot edu is doing this, I’m likely to tap out. Maybe direct Academia users to our personal or professional sites, if either have the ability to host files?

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jun 17

#ThangkaTuesday transatlantic edition. It’s wheels up from Bhutan & this Yeshe Tsogyal keeps coming to mind—her gorgeous garments, especially the subtle striping on her wrap, and the adornments in her hair. Simply sublime!

📷: me, pvt collection, Bhutan
#himalaya #himalayanart #bhutan #buddhistart

Detail from a Himalayan Buddhist painting, showing a seated woman wearing a colorful green top, blue outer garment, and red trousers with gold details.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Jun 11

#ThangkaTuesday was on hiatus—now back with this beauty from the newly opened Wangduechholing Palace Museum in #Bhutan. It took us a while, but we think we know which Je Khenpo it is. (18th!) Thanks to the WPM team for the guided tour & invitation to speak.

#buddhistart #himalaya #fulbright

Traditional Bhutanese Buddhist painting, vertical format, focused on a large scale human teacher wearing red & orange robes and a red hat, surrounded by other Buddhist teachers and deities shown in smaller scale.

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 26

Excited to see this talk on Tibetan scripts by Pentsok Rtsang!

#himalaya #tibet

sakya research centre @sakyaresearch.bsky.social · May 26

🎙️ #TibetanStudiesTalks

Thursday, 12 June 2025, 14:15 (CEST)
Online Guest Lecture in Indology & Tibetology, @lmumuenchen.bsky.social

Lecture by Pentsok Whenggyel Rtsang:
The Evolution and Great Diversity of Tibetan Scripts

lmu-munich.zoom-x.de/meeting/regi...

#tibetanscript #tibetancalligraphy

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 21

Belated #ThangkaTuesday entry comin’ in hot with a tiny detail of three cave-dwelling, red-robed yogis propitiating a rather remarkable phallus (man? spirit?)

#himalaya #buddhistart #bhutaneseart

Detail of a painting showing three Buddhist practitioners, seated cross-legged, wearing red robes, and holding musical instruments and offerings. They are all looking at a being with two arms and legs, facial features on its torso, and a huge spurting phallus where a human head would generally be located.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 12

We dodged a bullet—imagine what continued funding for the arts would have contributed to. All those people thinking about & responding to, and (shudder) finding joy in, the human condition…

Great that this will reduce creative expression & thoughtful engagement even more rapidly 👊🇺🇸🔥

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · May 11

"And it’s not like billionaires can just fund the arts themselves. No, no. They’re busy innovating and coming up with new ways to get out of paying taxes on their sixth yacht."

Phew, for a Minute There, I Thought the Arts Were Going to Get Too Much Funding

“Dozens of US arts organizations have been notified that offers of government grants have been terminated, hours after Donald Trump proposed elimin...

buff.ly

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 6

Opening a tab now; thank you!Looking forward to reading it, @waymarks.bsky.social

#himalaya #tibet

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 4

Ugh, yes—that one in particular!

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 4

Some of the quotes are bonkers. And the terminology!

“archaeological discoveries”
“excavated”
“uncovered”
“their discovery”
“the find”

📷 : (c) the limitless talent that is @effinbirds.com

A linear graphic of a stork alighting upward and to the right, seeming to fly away from three lines of text in a serif font that read “nopety”
“nopety”
“nope”

copyright of @effinbirds.com

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 2

I cannot boo loudly enough.

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · May 2

🫤

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 29

From the Yum Chenmo above to the trio of figures below, this Dorje Sempa yab yum is atypical. At least 2 artists contributed, with a steadier hand rendering the main deity pair as compared to the flanking Kagyu & Drukpa Kagyu lineage figures.

📷: NMB

#ThangkaTuesday #himalaya #bhutan #buddhistart

A Bhutanese traditional vertical format painting of Buddhist deities and masters. The main figures, a deity pair, are largest in scale at center and are flanked by a series of smaller lineage figures. A yellow seated deity is above their heads, and a buddha, a bodhisattva, and a meditational deity are below.

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Reposted by Ariana Maki

Angela S Chiu @chiuangelas.bsky.social · Apr 26

Sotheby's is about to auction off remains of the Buddha taken by colonial officials from India in 1898. "For the Buddhists who deposited them-as for Buddhists today-the gems, & his bone & ash, all belong to the Buddha & shouldn’t just be sold to the highest bidder." religionnews.com/2025/04/22/a...

Auctioning the Buddha's relics is perpetuating colonial violence

(RNS) — For the Buddhists who deposited these relics — as for Buddhists today — the gems, bone and ash all belong to the Buddha and shouldn’t just be sold to the highest bidder.

religionnews.com

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 23

The puddling drapery gets me—it mimics the vegetation

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 23

Isn’t it? That’s part of why it’s been in my mind so often for so long…

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 22

Generosity is the theme of this #ThangkaTuesday. This charming Vajradhara (རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང་།), Holder of the Indestructible, is in a private collection shown to me years ago. I adore its simplicity & beauty, and that little extra head tilt. My gratitude to those who have shown me so much.

#himalaya #bhutan

Two hands hold up a small embroidered thangka for the camera. The fabric ground is black and torn in places, while the figure, stitched in golden thread, depicts a cross-legged, two-armed, crowned deity sitting on top of a lotus.

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 17

Maybe more mantras will help

#bhutan #himalaya

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Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Apr 10

Congratulations!!

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Mar 31

While his practice seems to be sticking around (wonder why?), one that peaked and faded was Parnashavari (ལོ་མ་གྱོན་མ།), the leaf-clad deity associated with #healing epidemics & disease, whose image hung at the entrance to Bhutan's main hospital.

📷: L: Gyantse Kumbum, me
R: Rubin Museum of Art via HAR

Sculpture of a six-armed yellow deity in a small shrine. A red flame halo surrounds her as she stands on a lotus base with her right leg bent at the knee and her left knee down, such that her left heel is raised up at her midline.

A Himalayan Buddhist vertical format painting with the same half-kneeling figure at large scale in the center. Two members of her retinue, one red and one black and both smaller in scale, appear below her, their bodies in similar positions. At bottom center is a six armed male protector figure. Above the main image's head is a small Buddhist monk wearing a yellow hat and robes. Clouds and lotus flowers appear across the background of the upper half the painting, while the midground and foreground includes foliage, animal life, and auspicious imagery.

Ariana Maki @arianam.bsky.social · Mar 31

Since 2020, I've noticed more images of & initiations for Black Manjushri (འཇམ་དབྱངས་ནག་པོ།), a form of the #Buddhist bodhisattva of wisdom believed to help those experiencing #anxiety, depression, or other disturbances in their mental state.

#himalaya #thangkatuesday
📷: Zanabazar Museum

A small painting of a dark blue male deity wearing a red garment on his lower body. He's sitting cross legged "lotus style", wherein the top of each foot rests against the calf of the opposite leg so that the soles of his feet point skyward. Below him is a red lotus and a golden "halo" of light appears behind his body, while another, smaller, flame-edged halo emerges from his shoulders and encircles around his head. His right arm extends out at shoulder level, his hand grasping the handle of a vajra-hilted sword that he brandishes above him. In his left hand is the stem of a lotus, bends up and to the right, terminating in a pink bloom that holds aloft a rectangular traditional Himalayan Buddhist book.

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