Refuge Field

This painting represents the field of accumulation of merit in which all of the teachers of a specific tradition, their teachings written in religious texts, deities that are the focus of practices in that tradition, and its protectors are visually arranged as a one large gathering. Such depictions are meant for devotional practices and also represent the Three Jewels of the Buddhist Faith.

This field is arranged around the central teacher Tsongkapa (1357-1419), the founding teacher of the Gelug tradition. He is surrounded by teachers, meditational deities, and protectors, shown below. The practitioner would identify with a monk depicted in the lower right, who was probably the donor for this painting.