Tibet: Buddhas Gods Saints
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Wilpert, Clara B. / Algar, Maria Angela / Dalai Lama, PUBLISHER: Prestel Publishing, The Tibet collection, housed since in the Museum der Kulturen in Basel is the most important of its kind in Europe. Collected over a period of 30 years, it includes thangkas (scrolls for meditation), cultic sculptures, ritual and everyday items of monastic life, temple furniture and textiles, dance costumes, masks, books and musical instruments. This volume illustrates and explains a selection of the museum's finest objects, representing virtually every aspect of the Tibetan pantheon and liturgy from the 10th century to the Chinese invasion. The great scholar, Padmasambhava, brought Buddhism to Tibet from India in the 8th century. Buddhism combines high philosophy and mental training with ancient beliefs. The spiritual landscape of Tibet is inhabited by numerous gods and spirits. The art works created in monasteries and illustrated in this volume show the manifold manifestations of Buddha, the religious founder Padmasambhava, higher spiritual beings, the guardian godheads, Lamas and saints. These representations were originally intended to lead the viewer, wrapt in meditative contemplation, into a realm beyond the visible.