The Gods of Northern Buddhism: Their History and Iconography (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Indispensable reference for art historians, scholars of Eastern philosophy and religion. Wealth of detailed scholarly information on names, attributes, symbolism, pictorial representations of virtually every major and minor divinity in Mahayana pantheon, as worshipped in Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, Mongolia, and Japan. 185 black-and-white illustrations. Glossary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover ed edition (March 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486255751
• ISBN-13: 978-0486255750
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,150,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Authoritative, July 14, 2001

By	MandalaBooks (Mt. View, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This book's no-nonsense approach and impeccable research puts it in a category of its own. Getty's mistake was using her first name, identifying the author as a woman, and thus pre-condemning the book in many an eye simply because a man didn't write it. She expresses herself elegantly, with no sloppy sentimentality. You get the true facts behind early Buddhist idolatry. For example, Getty's explains how, during the first two centuries after Buddha's PariNirnana, the only images of the Tathagata were of an empty chair.