The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism is an authoritative text on the specifically Tibetan branch of Buddhism--one which possesses a rich visual history of Buddhist art and Iconagraphy. This book gives a descriptive outline of the principal gods in the Tibetan pantheon, tracing the main features and symbols that are used to denote each one. A Comprehensive illustrated list of the various ritual objects, talismans, symbols, mudras (symbolic hand poses), and asanas and vahanas (position of the lower limbs) that are used in the images of the gods is accompanied with a word list of the Sanskrit terms most commonly encountered in a study of Lamaism. A set of thirty-one thang-kas from the famous collection of Baron A. von Stael-Holstein, formerly of Peking, China, which came to America after the publication of the original edition of the book, has been included in this new and revised edition.

With her mother dead and her father an alcoholic who disappears for days at a time, Gabrielle must assume responsibility for her younger brother Will and herself, barely making ends meet and afraid to put her trust in anyone.

An informative overview of the intrinsic relationship of Buddhist deities to Tibetan art and well-captioned illustrations: temple paintings, books, wood blocks, ritual objects, robes, masks, metal work, more. 92 black-and-white illustrations.

With Notes On Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism And Mythology And Its Relations To Indian Buddhism.

Constructed between 1945 and 1947 by Jacques Marchais (the professional name of Jacqueline Klauber), the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art in Staten Island houses more than 1200 pieces of Tibetan Buddhist art from China and Mongolia, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Two essays about the history of the museum and the history of Tibetan Buddhism open the catalogue, which contains 169 objects from the museum's collections.

“Lively and engaging . . . raises important questions about how Eastern religions are often co-opted, assimilated and misunderstood by Western culture.” —Publishers Weekly Donald Lopez provides the first cultural history of the strange encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Charting the flights of Western fantasies of Tibet and its Buddhist legacy, Lopez presents fanciful visions of Tibetan life and religion, ranging from the utopian to the demonic. He examines, among much else, the politics of the term “Lamaism”, a pejorative name for Tibet's religion; the various theosophical, psychedelic, and New Age purposes served by The Tibetan Book of the Dead; the strange case of the Englishman with three eyes; and the unexpected history of the most famous of all Buddhist mantras, om mani padme hum. Throughout, Lopez demonstrates how myths of Tibet pervade both the products of pop culture and learned scholarly works. In his new preface to this anniversary edition, Lopez returns to the metaphors of prison and paradise to illuminate the state of Tibetan Buddhism—both in exile and in Tibet—as monks and nuns still seek to find a way home. Prisoners of Shangri-La remains a timely and vital inquiry into Western fantasies of Tibet. “Proceeding with care and precision, Lopez reveals the extent to which scholars have behaved like intellectual colonialists. . . . Someone had to burst the bubble of pop Tibetology, and few could have done it as resoundingly as Lopez.” —Booklist “Lopez's book shows that . . . when the West has looked at Tibet, all that it has seen is a distorted reflection of itself.” —Ben Jackson, Times Higher Education Supplement “A fine scholarly work.” —Kirkus Reviews

"The Indian Buddhist world abounds with goddesses--voluptuous tree spirits, maternal nurturers, potent healers and protectors, transcendent wisdom figures, cosmic mothers of liberation, and dancing female Buddhas. Despite their importance in Buddhist thought and practice, these female deities have received relatively little scholarly attention, and no comprehensive study of the female pantheon has been available. Buddhist Goddesses of India is the essential and definitive guide to divinities that, as Miranda Shaw writes, "operate from transcendent planes of bliss and awareness for as long as their presence may benefit living beings." Beautifully illustrated, the book chronicles the histories, legends, and artistic portrayals of nineteen goddesses and several related human figures and texts. Drawing on a sweeping range of material, from devotional poetry and meditation manuals to rituals and artistic images, Shaw reveals the character, powers, and practice traditions of the female divinities. Interpretations of intriguing traits such as body color, stance, hairstyle, clothing, jewelry, hand gestures, and handheld objects lend deep insight into the symbolism and roles of each goddess. In addition to being a comprehensive reference, this book traces the fascinating history of these goddesses as they evolved through the early, Mahayana, and Tantric movements in India and found a place in the pantheons of Tibet and Nepal."--Publisher's website.