The Encyclopedia Of Tibetan Symbols And Motifs Leather Binding

The culmination of a 15 year project to compile an extensive series of iconographical drawings, this book depicts the symbols, ritual objects, lineage holders and major deities which occur within the vast spectrum of Tibetan art. Reflecting upon the inner and often hidden meanings and origins encapsulated in this most complex of inconographical traditions, this book features several thousand individual drawings, and the accompanying text by the author interweaves the origins, meanings and functions of this vast symbolism, derived from India, Tibet and China, into a comprehensive tapestry within a Buddhist conceptual framework. Twelve chapters present the following subjects: landscape elements, flora, fauna, mythological and natural animals, narrative illustrations, cosmology - mount meru, mandala offering, astrology, the Kalachakra mantra syllables, stupas, chakras and channel-wheel systems, mudras, the chakravartin, auspicious offerings and symbols, ritual implements and weapons, wrathful attributes, tormas, the inner and outer offerings, geometric borders and designs.