Behrendt, Kurt with essays by Christian Luczanits and Amy Heller and an interview with Tenzing Rigdol
2024
256 pages
175 illustrations
9.5 x 10.75 in
A mandala is a diagram of the universe—a map of true reality intended to provide a focus for Buddhist religious practice and inspire the devout. This book highlights the distinctive Tibetan approach to creating mandalas, exploring how it crossed over from India into Tibet, and how continuous exchanges of art and ideas between the two cultures, led by monks and spiritual teachers, gave rise to a uniquely Tibetan style of Buddhist imagery. Featuring more than one hundred paintings, sculptures, and ritual objects, this superbly illustrated volume reflects the dazzling complexities of the Tibetan imagery that has provided a foundation for mandalas through the centuries. Most notably, a mesmerizing installation by the Tibetan American artist Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982), specially created for the accompanying exhibition and published here for the first time, offers contemporary audiences a way of interrogating and understanding their world and underscores how this ancient tradition remains a vibrant living practice.
Acknowledgments
Contributors to the Catalogue
Lenders to the Exhibition
Note to the Reader
Map
Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet
Kurt Behrendt
Teachers and Texts
Kurt Behrendt
Visualizing the Taboo in Esoteric Buddhism
Christian Luczanits
Compassion as Essence: Bodhisattvas as Spiritual Guides
Amy Heller
Biography of a Thought: A Discussion with Tenzing Rigdol
Kurt Behrendt and Tenzing Rigdol
