As a good omen, the exhibition opens on this original plate representing the workshop of a painter, the very place where sacred art is created, presaging the crowd of paintings, statues and religious artefacts displayed along the original drawings and reproductions.
 
This richly adorned, long-haired Indian master with delicate whiskers is Padmasambhava (“The Lotus-Born”, also known as Guru Rinpoche, “the precious master” in Tibetan). A great tantric master of the 8thcentury, possibly a native of the Swat valley in actual Pakistan, he is venerated as the Second Buddha and considered as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet. He played a crucial role in the construction of the first Tibetan monastery at Samyé and is regarded as the founder of the Nyingma school of ancient translations. The tradition says that with his supernatural powers he was able to subjugate the hostile local deities and converted them to Buddhism, transforming them into protectors of the Doctrine. A refined and imposing statue representing him is visible in the Emporium (ABS 020).