Tibetan Art (Niyogi)

Tibet – The ‘Land of Snows’ – is ensconced in the blue silence of icy peaks, the ochre silence of rocks, where once it was honey-combed with monasteries rich with their realizations of esoteric universes. A Tibetan inscription calls Tibet ‘divine territory… a land that is a mine of wisdom’. The rich artistic heritage of Tibet reveals the depths of meditations of great Masters, translated into the majestic abundance of iconic symbols that take the form of three-dimensional images or two dimensional thankas. Tibetan Art is a comprehensive introduction to the complex iconography of thankas, providing a glimpse of the richness of this art and of the land where it flourished. It takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery: Buddhist deities do not exist outside us but represent aspects of innate human potential. With no distinct, independent existence or objective reality, these deities are but symbols of abstract qualities. Contents:
Preface: Unto the Mindground of Tibetan Art: Lokesh Chandra Tibet: The Land of Spaces and Silences Buddhas Bodhisattvas Goddesses Tantras and Mandalas Masters, Mystics & Kings Medical Thankas Stupas Guardian Deities Conclusion
Written by an authoritative scholar of Tibetan Buddhism

Presents many works from rare private collections

Tibet – The ‘Land of Snows’ – is ensconced in the blue silence of icy peaks, the ochre silence of rocks, where once it was honey-combed with monasteries rich with their realizations of esoteric universes. A Tibetan inscription calls Tibet ‘divine territory… a land that is a mine of wisdom’. The rich artistic heritage of Tibet reveals the depths of meditations of great Masters, translated into the majestic abundance of iconic symbols that take the form of three-dimensional images or two dimensional thankas.

Tibetan Art is a comprehensive introduction to the complex iconography of thankas, providing a glimpse of the richness of this art and of the land where it flourished. It takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery: Buddhist deities do not exist outside us but represent aspects of innate human potential. With no distinct, independent existence or objective reality, these deities are but symbols of abstract qualities.

Contents:
Preface: Unto the Mindground
of Tibetan Art: Lokesh Chandra
Tibet: The Land of Spaces and Silences
Buddhas
Bodhisattvas
Goddesses
Tantras and Mandalas
Masters, Mystics & Kings
Medical Thankas
Stupas
Guardian Deities
Conclusion