The lama Losang Palden Yeshe and the assembly field of the Gelug Order

An “assembly field” is a kind of Tibetan thangka that depicts the ancestral lineage of a given teaching or school. At the center of this assembly field is a gnarled tree; the composition of this thangka as both a tree and an organized field reflects wordplay between the terms for “tree” (shing) and “field” (zhing) which sound much alike. Thangkas of this type use the tree-form to integrate a large amount of visual information into one schematic form, making them ideal tools for memorization and meditation.

At the center of the assembly field a rainbow circle enshrines Losang Palden Yeshe, the sixth Panchen Lama. At the lama’s heart a tiny image represents the lama’s chosen deity. Seven circles of spiritual hierarchy surround Losang Palden Yeshe. Lamas appear first, followed by a circle of fierce visualization buddhas, including Chakrasamvara. Celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas fill in the subsequent circle, and guardian figures occupy the outer circumference of the assembly.