Buddhist Art

Thangkas are beautiful paintings depicting concepts and beliefs in Buddhism, some of the most captivating and well known motifs are those of Peaceful deities. Read more

Writer and photographer Thomas Laird’s 10-year project records crumbling Buddhist murals before they are lost

The enlightened wrathful deity Vajrabhairava, Buddhist conqueror of death, embraces his female partner, Vajravetali. His nine heads include that of a buffalo, the animal associated with the defeated god of death, and the crowning yellow face of Manjushri, bodhisattva of wisdom, with whom Vajrabhairava is associated. Vajrabhairava’s central crown of skulls is topped with images of five peaceful Buddhas, a reminder that his gruesome imagery, by forcing us to confront what we fear, ultimately…

The image is a painting of Buddha sitting on a lotus flower. He is surrounded by a halo and is making a mudra with his hands. The painting is done in a traditional Chinese style and has a lot of detail. The colors are vibrant and the lines are fluid. The painting is very peaceful and serene.

This thangka depicts the Tibetan astrological diagram that Manjushri is said to have inscribed on the under shell of the tortoise. In the inner circle are the Tibetan numerals one to nine arranged

Himalayan Art Resources features thousands of artworks from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Mongolia. The site presents art from leading private and museum collections, accompanied by scholarship, cataloging and interpretation.

Since ancient times, subjects from Buddhism have been widely and beautifully represented in art through paintings and sculptures. Various Bodhisattvas (those wh...

The image is a Chinese painting of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. She is depicted as a young woman with a serene expression on her face. She is wearing a blue robe and is seated on a lotus flower. Her hands are folded in front of her chest in a gesture of prayer. The painting is surrounded by a border of lotus flowers and leaves.

Wheel of Life — the embodiment of samsara in the Buddhist view in the form of a circle. The Buddhist doctrine of cause and effect, which Buddha realized under the bodhi tree.