In the tradition of Celestial Gallery, this unique collection of striking Tibetan-style thangka paintings of the Goddesses of the Celestial Gallery are presented together for the first time, in this book-shelf sized format. Reproduced from the master painter Romio Shrestha and his team of artisan monks, who render postmodern interpretations of an age-old Tibetan artistic tradition. Made from malachite, lapis and marigolds and painted at times with just three hairs of a cat's tail, these paintings are produced in hauntingly powerful detail. Goddesses depicted include: "the goddesses of the arts" Saraswati; "the Divine Mother" White Tara a protector and preserver; "the Protectress " Green Tara : "the Dark Goddesses" Palden Lhamo, guardian of the lineage of the Dalai Lamas; and Kali, a wild and uncontrollable consort of Shiva, a devotee of time and keeper of the shadows within ourselves.

Opening the oversized pages of Celestial Gallery is akin to entering a grand museum. This impressive, high-quality production features White Tara, Green Tara, the Medicine Buddha, and many other celestials, while lending new meaning to the terms full-size and full-color. Four color printing with spot varnish throughout.

The third edition in the Celestial Gallery series, Buddhas of the Celestial Gallery collects Romio Shrestha's rarest and previously unpublished t’angkas, surveying the many incarnations of the Buddha. In the tradition of Celestial Gallery and Goddesses of the Celestial Gallery, Romio Shrestha’s latest art book gathers striking Tibetan-style mandala paintings featuring the Buddha. These hauntingly powerful paintings depict the life of the deity in eloquent detail and render postmodern interpretations of an age-old Tibetan artistic tradition in which images are painstakingly created using malachite, lapis, and marigolds, and painted at times with three hairs of a cat’s tail. These exquisite portrayals of the celestial spheres, known as mandalas, invite viewers to meditate on the Buddha’s message of love, completion, and connectedness. Also available in a lavishly illustrated oversize edition.

Following the bestselling "Celestial Gallery," comes a portable alter and beautifully oversized meditation cards which include new and inspired insights, prayers and blessings from the wisdom journals of visionary Nepali thangka artisan Romio Shrestha. Never before rendered in this prayerful format, keys to the offerings of the divine deities--including Buddha Sakyamuni, Green Tara, White Tara, Amitabha and more--honored in these magnificent scroll paintings can be discovered through guided practice and meditation.

The thangka is a way for Tibetan Buddhist monks to bring the life and teachings of the Buddha to the people through the visual medium of paint. These paintings were rolled up and taken on journeys, used as traveling altars, or hung when certain deitieswere honored. Meulenbeld takes us through 37 thangkas that present a pictorial journey of the life of Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama, and the evolution of Tibetan Buddhism. 37 color plates. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.

An extraordinary encyclopedia of Buddhist icons. Illustrating the Rin 'byung brgya rtsa, the Nar thang brgya rtsa, and the Vajravali, the book is based on a collection of over five hundred images of Tibetan deities. The images, presented in the book at full scale, were originally created by a master artist in the early nineteenth century to serve as initiation cards (tsakli). The original tsakli were woodblock prints, hand colored at the request of a Ch'ing Dynasty nobleman who had received the initiations. Such cards are used in ceremonies to introduce the practitioner to the deity and his or her practice. The paintings are housed in the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich. Deities of Tibetan Buddhism is also an indispensable reference tool for Tibetologists, students of Mahayana Buddhism, and museum curators. Its extensive supplementary materials include English translations of the basic invocation texts; the associated visualization with descriptions of the deities' postures, attributes, and colors; and the dharanis and mantras used in their invocation. Co-editor Martin Willson spent more than a decade translating and documenting this work. He has provided detailed explanations of technical terms, enlightening explanatory notes, and glossaries documenting the discrepancies in the depictions. The extensive pictorial index, featuring drawings and text by Robert Beer, explains the symbolic meaning behind the deities' implements and adornments. The cross-referenced indices for Tibetan, Sanskrit, Mongolian, and English names and terms provide quick access to vast amounts of information. Co-editor Martin Brauen and the technical staff of the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich have documented the relationship between this and other sets of initiation cards that exist elsewhere, as well as detailing the construction materials and methods involved in producing this set. Deities of Tibetan Buddhism is a reference book without peer, essential for any serious student of Tibetan and East Asian art and religion.

The rich artistic heritage of Tibet reveals the depths of meditations of great masters, translated into the majestic abundance of iconic symbols that take the form of three-dimensional images or two-dimensional thankas. Tibetan Art is a comprehensive introduction to the complex iconography of thankas. It provides a glimpse of the mindground of this art and the land where it flourished. Although Tibetan Art portrays the historic Buddha Sakyamuni, the arhats, spiritual masters, great lamas, and founders of different religious lineages, the preponderance of its images depict supramundane beings. Predominantly these are: the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, female deities, protectors or tutelary gods (yi-dams), defenders of the faith, guardians of the four cardinal points, minor deities and supernatural beings.

This book is the only detailed description of the techniques and principles of the sacred art of Tibetan scroll painting.

Giving Western literature and art many of its most enduring themes and archetypes, Greek mythology and the gods and goddesses at its core are a fundamental part of the popular imagination. At the heart of Greek mythology are exciting stories of drama, action, and adventure featuring gods and goddesses, who, while physically superior to humans, share many of their weaknesses. Readers will be introduced to the many figures once believed to populate Mount Olympus as well as related concepts and facts about the Greek mythological tradition.