Ethics in Aesthetics: Eco-Spiritual and Elemental Symbolism in Thangka Paintings

Abstract

The ancient civilizations of the world show how the primitive man lived in harmony with the nature and respected its elements. Painting, sculpture, architectural adornment, and the  ornate art forms draw inspiration from nature and consequently impersonate love, admiration, and ethics of conservation. Eco-spirituality emerges from a realization of cosmic world and gaining the popularity owing to a need for reconsidering man’s bond with nature, which has enfeebled due to growing environmental crisis, climate change, global warming that need to be handled. Buddhism, one of the ancient religions of the world, laid emphasis not only for valuing the living beings but also for their living spaces. Thangka are used to instil aspects of Buddhism among the learners and monks, describe the historical events, illustrate myths linked with the deities, and depict the useful ethno-biological aspects of medicinal plants and animals. Eco-spiritual elements remained the theme of Thangka paintings and are  extensively used in these to instil the thought of conservation of ecology. A number of  trees, creepers, shrubs, herbs are painted in Thangka paintings. In addition to this, the  Thangka paintings depict a number of animals like, horses, deer, elephants, lions, tigers, peacock, etc. Relational values convey the connection between an individual and ecological attributes and this can help in recognizing the gaps and realizing the faults on the part of human civilization. The understanding of deep cognitive values hidden in the artwork, when appreciated and valued can provide an inclusive answer for negotiating suitable outcomes. This paper examines the eco-spiritual and elemental symbolism in Thangka paintings.