Glenn Mullin, a convert to and prolific writer on Tibetan Buddhism, has written a genuine collector's piece, which gives an in-depth insight into some of the mysteries of human flight as recorded in the art of Central Asia.

Besides displaying numerous tangkas (religious painting) dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, Mullin's book, The flying mystics of Tibetan Buddhism gives details of their interpretations along with brief accounts of the lives and work of many of the greatest Buddhist teachers of the various styles of tangka, and of the cultural influences of Tibet, Mongolia, Iran, Bhutan and Manchu that account for their rich diversity. Mind you, it's not all deadly serious stuff. The Tibetan masters' 'playfulness', as they call it, receives a little attention, along with the occasional bit of what one could swear was skulduggery. The Tibetans says Mullin, love laughter.

We read also of the requirements for flight, of Mullin's personal recollections of Tibetan flyers in India, including the Dalai Lama's personal rainmaker who was actually the fifth incarnation of the Winged Lama, a famous 17th century flying mystic. And he shows us, adepts levitating, dancing up rainbows, and even the kang-kyok-ngo-trub — the fleet-of-foot siddhis (spiritual power), who travel without the feet touching the earth. “The achievement was so common in the early 1900s that the British government in India kept several Tibetan 'fleet of footers' on their salary rosters.”

On the phone to Dr Pempa Dorje, a Tibetan scholar recently visiting Pune, India, I learned that would-be tangka painters are taught to paint the Buddha first. So like Mullin, let us stick to protocol and begin by looking at tangkas of this great teacher. In the nine examples given, he is shown principally in meditation, rather than in the act of flying.

In Plate 2 (Tibet, C19), 'Buddha Shakyamuni with Garuda Aura', executed mostly in muted browns, greens and white, he is seated, his left hand in the gesture of meditation, his right hand invoking the world as witness, and his two chief disciples in monks' robes —  Shariputra on the left and Maudgalyayana on the right just below him.

The author identifies here “several mythological animals symbolic of the human capacity to fly”, while among other important flyers described are Dipamkara and Maitreya, representing all past and future Buddhas respectively. This whole tangka is executed in elaborate and delicate detail.

Frequently, the author shows flyers in details enlarged from tangkas. One such detail is taken from Plate 7 (Tibet, C19), 'Buddha and disciples fly to visit Sumagadha', a piece composed of delightful vignettes of country folk, with Buddha and an entourage of about fifteen disciples, en route with great dignity through the sky.

As usual, these arhats (saints) are carried by magical mounts in the Buddha's presence, though capable of actual flight. The landscape below is basically a combination of beige and light green, with blue water and foliage, white elephants, while the red in clothing, and in house and boat details, and the green and yellow touches elsewhere, not to mention the Buddha's roseate halo, all make for a delightfully colourful impression.

Several tangkas in the book are parts of sets, which may include as many as 23 pieces, with the Buddha in the central one. Plate 9 (Tibet, C19), 'Arhat Ajita Walking on water', is an example of this, depicting Ajita riding on the back of a whale, the water on the left formed into a conch shell releasing a melody of transcendental wisdom, while flying celestial beings trumpet above.

The rich combination of brilliant blue and red is offset by a muted, blue-grey background, and touches of pink and yellow ochre, while the beautiful, typically eastern water patterns lend an added grace and finish.

The colour blue in Buddhism is associated with the element of space, Mullin informs, and thus with the wisdom of infinity (shunyata). In Plate 16 (Mongolia, C19), the brilliant blue arya bodhisattva is either Akashagarbha or Nivaranavishkambhin, in which case the graceful flying monk above represents either space- like wisdom which bestows the power of flight, or the purification of spiritual obscurations, and we learn that “the somewhat Persian demeanour and skin colour of the figure to the left ... arise from Mongolia's close connections to the Middle East through the Silk Road”, and is thus a common trait among Mongolian artists.

The diagonal right-to-left line of the delicate pink flowers and green foliage, including the bodhisattva's slightly red halo, are an admirable background for the central figure, with the intricate lines of his clothing and adornments. The monk at lower left looks upwards, indicating that he is sufficiently advanced spiritually to see adepts in flight.

All are offset beautifully by the pensive brown background, and the whole uncluttered piece gives the mind a rest, whereas many tangkas are somewhat florid and busy, though their composition is orderly. Furthermore, the grace of the flyer here is in direct contrast to those practising their flying in Plate 24 (Tibet, C18), 'At play with the birds', with their arms and legs going every-which-way.

We must not overlook Maitreya's portrayal in Plate 37 (Tibet, C17), 'Maitreya, the future Buddha of love, resplendent with flyers'. This exhibits the remarkable tsel-tang style, where the canvas is first painted red with vermilion, after which images are created on this employing a lot of very fine, gold lines, using 24-carat gold dust mixed with epoxy to make paint. Note the delicacy of the lotus throne, and of the cloud and plant patterns gently covering most of the background, while the human and celestial figures are in solid colour, Maitreya himself shown here as Lord of Tushita Pure Land. Those flying in the upper corners represent on one level “the ability to fly of all .... born in Tushita”, on another, the transcendental and liberating powers of love, and on a third, “the wisdom of the emptiness nature of the beloved”, which bestows the power of flight.

This is the only case in which Mullin touches on the matter of materials or techniques, but these will be dealt with in a separate article. Meanwhile, this is a truly profound work, not one to be glanced through then forgotten. Keep it near you. Peruse if from time to time, not only to appreciate and understand this rich collection of paintings, but also to learn something of an important religious philosophy. 

The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism by Glenn H. Mullin

Rubin Museum of Art,

New York

Serindia Publications, Chicago

247pp.

Above At play with the birds,

Tibet, 18th century, 20.5x34.25 inches, Collection of Shelly and Donald Rubin

Left Padma Sambhava as flight instructor, Tibet, 19th century,

13.25x21.25 inches, Collection of Shelly and Donald Rubin