Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art

Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art

Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art

Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art

Image, Pilgrimage, Practice
སྔོན་འགྲོ་བཞི་སྦྱོར་གྱི་ངག་འདོན་མདོར་བསྡུས། །
Karen Lucic

Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice, organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center of Vassar College in 2015, was the first transcultural exhibition in America solely devoted to the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The accompanying catalogue, written by Karen Lucic, traces the story of this important figure, who emerged from ancient India to become a venerated deity throughout Asia. As one who leads others to enlightenment, this bodhisattva exemplifies limitless compassion, a fundamental ideal in Mahayana Buddhism. The beautifully illustrated catalogue features over sixty Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese representations of Avalokiteshvara.

This publication reveals how the bodhisattva’s followers bring him to life daily through venerating icons, journeying to his sacred sites, and engaging in associated spiritual practices. Many Buddhists around the world visualize his form and chant his famous mantra, om mani padme hum. Embodying Compassion presents works from several countries and multiple contexts as a collective case study in the imaginative ways that spiritual values can take shape in artful forms.

History
Chariot of the Fortunate
Siddhas of Ga
Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art
A Garland of Jewels: The Eight Great Bodhisattvas
A History of Goshir Paljor Dhondup
The Hundred Tertöns
The First Karmapa
Two Autobiographical Praises
Only the Impossible is Worth Doing
Karmapa: 900 Years