Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art
By Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo
Contents:
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Preface
Introduction
Part One: FIBERS
Piece 1: His Holiness Will See You Now
Piece 2: Fabric
Piece 3: First Contact
Piece 4: A Finger Pointing to the Himalayas
Piece 5: Stepping Out
Piece 6: Making Moves
Piece 7: My Good Friend, Fear
Part Two: THREADS
Piece 8: Sick in Delhi
Piece 9: A False Start … or Was It?
Piece 10: Coming Home to Dharamsala
Piece 11: Settling In
Piece 12: Making Connections
Piece 13: A Room with a View
Piece 14: Dharma Class
Piece 15: Where Are You Going?
Piece 16: Precious Human Life
Piece 17: Monsoon
Piece 18: Veg Wallah
Piece 19: Insiders
Piece 20: Refuge and a New Name
Piece 21: Norbulingka
Part Three: WARP
Piece 22: Thangka? Tonka.
Piece 23: Emperors, Lamas, and Silk
Part Four: WEFT
Piece 24: In Search of a Teacher
Piece 25: My Teacher’s Teacher
Piece 26: Drawing, Horsehair, Silk, and Meat
Piece 27: Losing My Teacher
Piece 28: Like Being Adopted
Part Five: PIECES
Piece 29: Step into the Tsemkhang
Piece 30: Wrapping, Turning, Making the Silk Dance
Piece 31: Teatime
Piece 32: Hanging Out with Buddhas
Piece 33: Back to the Drawing
Piece 34: The Deity Has No Shame
Piece 35: Outsider In
Piece 36: Choose Your Poison
Piece 37: Mastering the Process
Piece 38: Horse Tales
Piece 39: Two, Three, Seven, or a Thousand Eyes
Piece 40: Different Eyes, Different World
Piece 41: Patience—Not!
Part Six: REVERENCE
Piece 42: Can You Make a Thangka for Me?
Piece 43: Multi-Colored Weave of Humanity
Piece 44: Remembering the Silkworms
Piece 45: Three Syllables, Three Doors
Piece 46: Frames of Brocade
Piece 47: Blessings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Part Seven: BUDDHAS
Piece 48: Padmapani, My Patience Tester
Piece 49: Green Tara, the Swift Protectress
Piece 50: White Tara, Live Long and Practice
Piece 51: Manjushri, Cutting Through Ignorance
Piece 52: The Buddha, the Founder
Piece 53: Medicine Buddha, Treating the Root Cause
Piece 54: Lotus Flowers, Unstained by Circumstance
Piece 55: Lotus-Born Guru Rinpoche
Piece 56: Saraswati, Melodious Goddess
Piece 57: Samantabhadra, Always Good
Piece 58: Chenrezig, Focus on Just One
Epilogue: Lineage
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Stitches and Steps of Tibetan Appliqué
Glossary of Selected Terms
Preface:
Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo is a pioneer in introducing to the Western world the rare and sacred Tibetan art of lhemthuk —appliqué thangkas created with hundreds of pieces of brightly colored fabrics that are meticulously cut and stitched together to create enlightened icons and motifs. This ancient tradition requires a tremendous amount of skill: it demands a degree of mastery of the eyes and hands that exceeds the skills of the more commonly known painted thangkas (traditional Tibetan scroll paintings). Appliqué thangka creation also commands an extraordinary aesthetic maturity in the design and overall color placement and skillful layering of a myriad of fabric pieces to create a three-dimensional perspective in two dimensional form. Beyond the technical skills that appliqué thangkas require, lineage blessings, spiritual training, and genuine compassion for all living sentient beings must ripen within the artist. For these reasons, appliqué thangka creation is an art form that is extremely difficult to accomplish—something which Leslie has achieved through her rigorous apprenticeships, dedication, meticulous skills training, and compassionate motivation to benefit all beings. Threads of Awakening is a celebration of this accomplishment, demonstrating that the authentic lineage of creating traditional Tibetan appliqué thangkas has been planted firmly in America and made accessible to the world at large.
Threads of Awakening shares Leslie’s fascinating travels of exploration and growth. Interconnected moments of her life weave together like a mosaic in her quest of finding and accomplishing this rare and precious art form. In her articulate and joyfully relatable stories, Leslie lays her heart open with candor, drawing you in to walk alongside her as a companion on her journey. Of particular note, the appendix, “Stitches and Steps of Tibetan Appliqué,” is perhaps the first written record on the topic ever published. Threads of Awakening not only fulfills a critical gap in the recorded literature and preservation of traditional Tibetan appliqué thangkas—it is also sure to enrapture, delight, and inspire you! PEMA NAMDOL THAYE, traditional Tibetan architect, painter, sculptor, 3-D mandala specialist, author, and art educator.