There is a painting in the Freer Gallery of Art’s current exhibition, Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan, that beautifully symbolizes the remarkable cultural
“Return to Amida, Return to Amida, So even dewdrops fall,” wrote the Soto Zen hermit Ryokan (1756–1831) famously, and throughout his life he exhorted those
Whether it is his unconventional performance art, his photography, or his sculpture, Chinese artist Zhang Huan’s remarkable repertoire is rebellious, eccentric, controversial—and spiritual, particularly in
The hand gestures, or mudra, assumed by figures of the Buddha and other deities are some of the most fascinating aspects of Buddhist iconography. Similar
Four years ago, one of my best friends visited Hong Kong. The first cultural landmark I took him to was Chi Lin Nunnery, which I
In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, a kalpa is a very long period of time, a concept akin to the aeon. The term was first used
Tibetan Vajrayana imagery, for the most part, illustrates fantastical literary texts by reflecting metaphor and symbolism. Notions of aesthetic achievement and the sense of beauty
On 18 August, a team of researchers in Seoul thrilled the archeological community when its members unearthed a ceramic pot at the site of Dobong
As I am not an art historian, I had some hesitation in attending the talks on “Buddhist Art and Architecture.” However, after reading the abstracts,
In fall 2007, in the company of Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche and a group of his students, photographer Michael Ash made a pilgrimage across Tibet to
“Fluttering Merrily” by Otagaki Rengetsu, Japan, 1840s–50s, calligraphy and painting in ink on paper mounted as a hanging scroll; Private Collection, Switzerland
In photography, we are working with light. Simple light. That is if we are simple in our perception. But how does that come to be?
