Guru Dragpur/Dragpo/ Vajra Armor Practice Nyingma Tradition Original Hand-painted Oil Varnished Tibetan Thangka Painting with Silk Brocade

Guru Dragpo or Guru Dragpur, a fierce meditational form of Padmasambhava, holds great importance in the 'Revealed Treasure' Tradition of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. This practice is attributed to Nyangral Nyima Ozer (1124-1192). While Guru Dragpo is a guruyoga practice, he also serves as a meditational deity. Within the Nyingma Tradition, which upholds the early meditational deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra and Eight Heruka, the practice of Guru Dragpo is popular and widely represented in art. The 16th-century teacher Pema Karpo introduced a variation on Guru Dragpo called Guru Dragpur, primarily practiced in the Drugpa Kagyu School. Guru Dragpo, in his wrathful form, swiftly eliminates obstacles from the path to enlightenment. He tramples on the Mara of self-cherishing and on anything that might hinder our awakening. This particular thangka, painted in the Nagtang style with a black background and mostly gold ink, is a stunning representation of this traditional painti