Customer Reviews

Buddhist Symbols

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Buddhism is a complex system of thought that has passed through many cultures and countries on its way to the modern era. Just as Christianity has its own symbols and images, Buddhism has inspired a wealth of art that can be bewildering to the Westerner. This compact volume focuses mostly on Tibetan tradition and is well organized.

It is not the flashiest of art books and that is exactly why it is so useful. By using simple line drawings without color, the authors strip each icon, gesture, plant, animal and sacred object to its essential components. The explanatory text is short, easy to read and fits on the facing page or in a caption. This is true whether it was something simple like a fly whisk or as complicated as the Buddhist Wheel of Life.

In only one section do the illustrations fall short. The short nine page section on the eight types of stupas had great text. Did you know that the Indian stupa evolved into the Tibetan chorten which then became the pagoda in East Asia? Unfortunately, the line drawings did not help me to distinguish the eight varieties. They were just too flat and lacked detail.

I recommend this book to students reading Buddhist philosophy, art historians interested in Oriental art and anyone planning to travel in Asia. The section explaining the postures and hand gestures had me digging out photographs of statues in temples I visited long ago to check. Oh, now I see!