This thangka represents the “six-syllable form” of Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of compassion evoked by the mantra om mani padme hum. As the fourteenth Dalai Lama explains the syllables, om stands for the impurities that obscure awareness, mani — the jewel — for the path of compassion, padme — the lotus — for wisdom, and hum for the indivisible union of wisdom and method, together achieving the pure body, speech and mind of buddhahood; the Dalai Lamas are themselves understood as incarnations of this deity. Though Shadakshari Lokeshvara is conventionally white, here he is rendered in gold, the most radiant of colours, as the highest embodiment of compassion. He is surrounded by bodhisattvas, an array of protectors, and a lineage of monks.
