The Eight Auspicious Symbols, or Ashtamangala, are perhaps the most well-known group of symbols in Tibetan Buddhism. Consisting of the parasol, the pair of golden
The 5th/6th century Buddhist monk Bodhidharma is considered the founder and patriarch of meditational Buddhism, known as dhyana in Sanskrit, Chan in Chinese, and Zen in Japanese. Although he was revered
After seeing several Cham festivals in remote places on a 2014 trip to Ladakh and neighboring Zanskar, I came to the conclusion that video-documenting Cham
The eastern Indian state of Odisha (until recently named Orissa) is home to a large number of temples and Buddhist heritage sites that draw scholars
A commonly held view is that the body houses the soul—but have you ever thought that the soul could live elsewhere? I have experienced that
The Sanskrit word “mandala” literally means a sacred center (la) that has been set apart or adorned (mand). In theory, therefore, a mandala can take
Thagzo, or the Bhutanese textile-weaving tradition, enjoys a lofty place amongst the national “Thirteen Arts and Crafts,” or zorig chusum. Globalization and the gradual, tightly controlled
The relationship between Sri Lanka and Thailand spans nearly ten centuries and has a history of mutually beneficial exchanges of ideas, architectural styles, and culture
I first traveled to Ladakh in the western Himalaya 15 years ago, after being invited by a lama I met on the beach in front
A mixed-media work on paper depicting a jet-black raven emerging from a bold black splash of ink poetically and powerfully exemplifies the work of Los
At 7 p.m., Lotos the 11-year-old mini-monk dashes up the stairs, his red robes billowing out behind him. He makes his way onto the monastery
“Sacred art is created in order to awaken our experience of the true reality. It should not remain unattended on a wall or shelf. We
