Senso-ji: A Buddhist Temple for the People
Meher McArthur
13 April 2017
Japan’s most visited Buddhist temple is not one of the peaceful Zen temples, with their minimalist rock and gravel gardens, or even Todai-ji in Nara, with
Strings of Enlightenment: The Beauty of Buddhist Prayer Beads
Meher McArthur
17 February 2017
Prayer beads are an important part of Buddhist practice and ritual throughout Asia and beyond. Although they are generally regarded primarily as tools to aid
Solidity and Spirituality in the Works of Miya Ando
Meher McArthur
23 December 2016
Miya Ando’s painting Yugen Gold Blue is a Zen koan of sorts. The nocturnal seascape, lit by the hazy glow of a rising moon, is at once a portrait
The Many Forms of Avalokiteshvara
Meher McArthur
25 November 2016
To many practitioners of the Mahayana schools of Buddhism of East Asia and the esoteric traditions of the Himalayas and Japan, bodhisattvas, or “enlightenment beings,”
The Buddhist Roots of Japanese Flower Arrangement
Meher McArthur
28 October 2016
One of the most widely practiced of all Japanese art forms is ikebana, or flower arrangement. The word “ikebana” literally means “living flowers,” suggesting that while
Meditations in Light by Echo Lew
Meher McArthur
30 September 2016
In 2006, Taiwanese-American artist Echo Lew (b.1951) was visiting Shanghai from his home near Los Angeles. One night, he found himself standing on a street
Cosmic Contemplations: A Glimpse of Japan’s Rare Star Mandalas
Meher McArthur
2 September 2016
Japan’s esoteric Buddhist traditions boast a rich and diverse array of imagery, ranging from figures of individual deities to elaborate mandalas depicting specific deity families
Visions from the Zen Mind: Zen Paintings and Calligraphy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Meher McArthur
8 July 2016
A fuzzy-furred gibbon seated on a rugged boulder reaches an arm out over a rushing river and tries to scoop up the reflection of the
Alternate Realities in the Paintings of Wakana Kimura
Meher McArthur
10 June 2016
At a distance, the monumental nine-panel painting appears to be an explosion of black calligraphic brushstrokes and electric neon-toned splashes. Wakana Kimura’s (b. 1978) work CHARACTER is a