Initiation Card (Tsakalis)
These tsakali cards, when arranged on the ground as a mandala, create a fixed sacred space like a temple. They show the celestial Buddhas, bodhisattvas, protectors, and, at bottom, the six possible realms of rebirth. Monastic teachers used tsakali cards to align (initiate) a disciple with one of many Vajrayana Buddhist deities. The disciple sought permission from the deity (via dream or supervised by a teacher) and visualized the deity as described in recited mantras and represented on the card. A Nepali artist probably made this set for a Tibetan patron of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
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