The 12 Deeds of the Buddha
a painting by Korchak Tulku based on the Derge xylographs

76pp. 14 color illustrations
Shechen Publications 2003


Korchak Tulku Kunga Gyeltsen is a Tibetan Lama and master painter living (a very ordinary life) in exile in Nepal. Rinpoche specializes in reproducing old Tibetan designs using natural color and painstaking traditional technique.

This Thangka (scroll painting) of the 12 Deeds is one of his masterpieces, adapted from the classic series of 9 block prints formerly kept at the Derge Parkhang (printing house), in eastern Tibet. The original blocks were destroyed in the 1960s and although reproduced in exile, they are hard to find.

A book has now been made out of this painting, by re-assembling the 9 block prints, reproducing them on beautiful handmade Nepali paper and presenting them together with color illustrations from the painting. Each Deed is accompanied by a relevant verse in Tibetan calligraphy with English translation and a one page commentary summarized from classical literature.

With this simple, elegant format, the book presents the life of the Buddha as it has been traditionally understood and depicted for centuries in Tibet, brings the celebrated Derge images back into print, and showcases Korchak Tulku's colorful painting style. It is hardbound by hand in Nepali style for a unique and appropriate finish.

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