Portraits Of Tibetan Buddhist Masters

Renowned photographer Don Farber, one of the most important chroniclers of Buddhism today, brings the face and the spirit of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism alive with this remarkable book. Portraits of Tibetan Buddhist Masters―a collection of superb color photographs presented with brief biographies and teachings from each master―is a vibrant work, a testament to the compassion and wisdom that lies at the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Farber felt compelled to record the last of the living Buddhist masters who received their training in Tibet and then fled the country following the invasion by China, as well as other masters who survived many years of imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution. He has worked with a sense of urgency to photograph and interview these extraordinary beings who have been the custodians of this endangered Buddhist tradition. His collection of portraits also includes some of the bright lights of Tibetan Buddhism, the younger masters who will carry the tradition into the future. As a photographic archive of Tibetan Buddhist masters, this book plays an important role in preserving Tibetan culture, in all its richness and complexity, through the words and faces of its esteemed masters.

Oliver Hoare's impressive collection of Tibetan portrait bronzes is presented together with an in-depth history of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The volume contains chapters in Tibetan art, religion, and culture describing the successive schools such as the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Kadam and Geluk. Color plates of the portrait bronzes of the leaders of the schools are incorporated, accompanied by the stories associated with each leader.

Photographer Don Farber has followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama for 30 years. This documentary and inspirational work celebrates the life and work of a leader unique in the modern world. Farber's photographs capture the charismatic spiritual figure, highlighting the reverence shown to him wherever he goes. Of equal interest are the quieter moments that reveal the private individual and his compelling humanity. Through following in the footsteps of His Holiness we learn more about his character, and about the central tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. Text in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese SELLING POINTS A visual biography of one of the world's major spiritual leaders Of interest both to Buddhist scholars and all those drawn to a message of peace and compassion ILLUSTRATIONS 73 colour & bw photographs

Portraits of Tibetan men, women, and children are accompanied by comments by the Dahli Lama.

When the Chinese communists came to power in 1949, they moved to reestablish their "traditional" borders and in 1959 annexed Tibet. Most monasteries were closed, nomads were moved onto communes, the nobility were stripped of privileges, forests were cut, roads were paved, military airfields were constructed, and Tibet's communication with the outside world was cut off. A Portrait of Lost Tibet provides rare documentary photographs of traditional Tibetan life as it had been lived for countless generations before the radical disruption effected by the Chinese takeover. Rosemary Jones Tung's text describes the culture Ilya Tolstoy and Brooke Dolan found during their ten-month trek across Tibet in 1942. Tung has selected 131 photographs from the two thousand taken during their expedition. When the Chinese communists came to power in 1949, they moved to reestablish their "traditional" borders and in 1959 annexed Tibet. Most monasteries were closed, nomads were moved onto communes, the nobility were stripped of privileges, forests were cut, roads were paved, military airfields were constructed, and Tibet's communication with the outside world was cut off. A Portrait of Lost Tibet provides rare documentary photographs of traditional Tibetan life as it had been lived for countless generations before the radical disruption effected by the Chinese takeover. Rosemary Jones Tung's text describes the culture Ilya Tolstoy and Brooke Dolan found during their ten-month trek across Tibet in 1942. Tung has selected 131 photographs from the two thousand taken during their expedition.

What if you set out to travel the world and got sidetracked in a Himalayan sewing workshop? What if that sidetrack turned out to be your life’s path—your way home? Part art book, part memoir, part spiritual travelogue, Threads of Awakening is a delightful and inspiring blend of adventure and introspection. Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo shares her experience as a California woman traveling to the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India to manage an economic development fund, only to wind up sewing pictures of Buddha instead. Through her remarkable journey, she discovered that a path is made by walking it—and that some of the best paths are made by walking off course. For more than 500 years, Tibetans have been creating sacred images from pieces of silk. Much rarer than paintings and sculptures, these stitched fabric thangkas are among Tibet's finest artworks. Leslie studied this little-known textile art with two of its brightest living masters and let herself discover where curiosity and devotion can lead. In this book, she reveals the unique stitches of an ancient needlework tradition, introduces the Buddhist deities it depicts, and shares insights into the compassion, interdependence, and possibility they embody. Includes 49 full-color photos and a foreword by the Dalai Lama.

Accompanying an exhibition to be held in New York during late fall of 1998, Sacred Visions is a superbly illustrated volume of art works from the 11th to the mid-15th centuries which includes scholarly essays that relate to the paintings to be displayed.