Buddhist Art and Thought

Contents: Preface. 1. Buddhist art: from the northwest to the far east. 2. Amitabha: the Buddha of immeasurable light in Japanese Art. 3. Yoga: the basis of the Taima Mandala. 4. Bodhisattvas of debate and defence. 5. Buddhist colossi in Japan. 6. Mandala and meditation in Japanese Esoteric art. 7. India and East Asia : a cultural symbiosis. 8. Bodhisattvas in Buddhist art and thought. 9. From Ajanta to Horyuji. 10. A Sanskrit Manuscript of the Gupta period at the Horyuji Monastery in Japan. 11. Zen bearings on Japanese Arts. 12. Four divine guardians in Japanese Art. 13. India and Japan: Academic relations in early twentieth century. 14. Structure of Gobu-shingan and the graphic Vajradhatu-mandala in the light of the Sarva-tathagata-tattva- sangraha. 15. Iconography of Vaisravana in Japanese art compared with Sanskrit literary sources. 16. Cultural interflow between India and Central Asia. 17. Monasteries of Khotan in Tibetan literary sources. 18. Apotheosis of an Indonesian king of the Singasari Dynasty. 19. Fire Altar for Asvamedha Ceremony in Indonesia. 20. The earliest Sanskrit documents from Indonesia. 21. Sanskrit texts in Chinese and Tibetan translations. 22. Sanskrit in Japan. 23. Sanskrit in Southeast Asia. 24. Search for Shambhala and Kalacakra by Yuri and Nicholas Roerichs. 25. Hevajra in Buddhist literature, imperial ceremonies and art. 26. Banner of peace. 27. Role of Suvarnaprabhasa-sutra in the polity of East Asia. Index.

""Buddhist Art and Thought" is a window to the cultural ambience of Asia. It encompasses a number of themes related to the study of cultural interflow among Asian countries, which share philosophy, literature, techniques of arts and architecture, systems of polity and ways of living and thinking. The book brings forth the history of dissemination of Buddhism by monk-scholars in the kingdoms of Central Asia, and the discovery of the lost heritage by archeologists of various countries. It throws light on the manifestations of divine forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It presents the first step towards classification of innumerable Bodhisattvas in Buddhist art and thought. Other deities of the Buddhist pantheon like Buddhas of the solar cults, protectors, deified images of kings, Tantric deities and the minor beings assimilated into the Buddhist pantheon, their symbolism and iconography, are also discussed in the book. From colossal images to luminous Mandalas, all the art forms are manifestations of philosophical speculations. Yoga remains the basis of a number of Mandalas representing the levels of meditation. Some of the chapters are devoted to the transmission and impact of Buddhist sutras on the development of schools of philosophy like Pure Land and Zen. Buddhist Sanskrit literature, that was transmitted to and translated into the languages of Tibet, China, Mongolia and other countries, exists as a rich heritage of Asia. The author also touches upon other topics like Indian scripts, Sanskrit inscriptions and manuscripts, Buddhist ceremonies and rituals beyond the boundaries of India and the contribution of Indologists as pilgrims in the world of vision and intellection." (jacket)