One of the easiest ways to start reading a thangka is to look at the hands. Each figure holds a gesture, called a mudra, and it tells you what that Buddha or deity is doing. The earth-touching gesture, with the right hand reaching down to the ground, shows the Buddha at the moment of his enlightenment. Both hands resting in the lap, one on top of the other, is the meditation gesture.

A raised right palm facing outward means protection and fearlessness, while a hand lowered with the palm open is the gift-giving gesture you often see on Green Tara. Hands held at the chest with fingers forming small circles show the Buddha teaching. Buy authentic thangka painting from a studio that can explain which mudra its figures show, because a painter trained in the tradition gets the finger positions exactly right.

Once you know these five, you can walk into almost any monastery or museum and understand a lot about a painting before reading a single label.