Buddhism first appeared in Tibet during the Zhangzhung Kingdom (500 BC – AD 625). The Zhangzhung took in Buddhist diplomats and scholars from India, and their teachings affected the native Bon religion, a kind of Tibetan native spiritualism. The relationship between Buddhism and Bon is now so close that many consider modern Bon as a variant of Tibetan Buddhism. Indeed, the bonpo (followers of Bon) consider the legendary founder of their religion, Shenrab Miwo, to have been a Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism was properly founded in the Seventh Century AD, however, when Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo (AD 618 – AD 649) sponsored the translation of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures from India into the classical Tibetan language. Later, King Trisong Detsen (AD 755 – AD 797) established Buddhism as the Tibetan state religion. The unique evolution of Buddhism in Tibet, which was secluded from the outside world, and where it mixed with Bon and Tibetan Shamanism.

One of the characteristic features of Tibetan Buddhism was the fragmentation of the state religion into various schools. The oldest such school was Nyingma, which is characterised by a unique set of teachings known as the Dzogchen, the ‘Great Perfection’, which they consider the highest of all Buddhist teachings. Nyingma also employs a special kind of revelatory teaching known as terma (‘hidden treasures’). These texts and relics were supposedly hidden away; often, the texts would be written in dakini script, a non-human writing. Terma are then ‘discovered’ by a terton, a treasure revealer. Sometimes, it is understood that the terma was in fact an element of the terton’s nature or essence of mind. The other major schools include Kagyu, Sakya and, most recently, Gelug (founded AD 1409). Gelug, the sect ruled by the Dalai Lama, was sponsored by Tibet’s Chinese overlords during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and eventually became the most prominent of Tibet’s Buddhist sects. These four sects are informally divided into two categories. Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya are known as the shamar, the ‘Red Hats’. Gelug, on the other hand, is the Yellow Hat Sect. The emblematic hats of the sects became calling-cards for their lamas.

This Eighteenth Century AD depiction of a lama wears the so-called Lotus Hat, a headpiece made of yak wool; the crown of the hat is curved, the brim is turned up, and the front is usually open (though, in this case, the front is the same height as the rest of the brim). The brim is made up of a series of upright ‘petals’, each decorated individually. Traditionally, the brim bears a sun and moon pattern – symbolising the combination of convenience and wisdom – with a blue edge symbolising the eternal vow of the monk. In this case, the petals each bear a simplified image of the Buddha in the lotus position (padmasana). The crest resembles a stupa, and represents the impregnability of Buddhist meditation. When looked at in profile, the hat has three points (left, right and top) which are said to represent the three bodies (trikaya) of the Buddha: dharmakaya (body of essence), sambhogakaya (body of enjoyment), and nirmankaya (body of transformation). The Lotus Hat is restricted to the highest-ranking members of the Nyingma School, and so we can identify this lama as a prominent individual in this sect. He wears the traditional garb of a monk, the kasaya. These loose-fitting robes are made up of three rectangular pieces of cloth, antarvasa, uttarasanga and samghati. These are arranged so that the antarvasa and uttarasanga are used as undergarments for the lower and upper body respectively, visible in the front centre of the overall ensemble (as in this statuette). The samghati functioned as an outer cloak, draped over the shoulders. This lama also wears mantra prayer beads, mala, around his neck. He sits in the lotus position (padmasana), with his hands in the dhyana mudra, a hand gesture associated with meditation and contemplation. His face, directed downwards, is a picture of relaxed concentration, with downcast eyes and a half-smile.