San Antonio College Library

In this book the author surveys one of the world's great religions that has left an imprint upon the art of a number of Asian countries, from India to China, and Japan from the earliest times to the modern age.

"As its teachings spread from the Indian subcontinent in all directions across Asia, Buddhism influenced every culture it touched--from Afghanistan to Korea, from Mongolia to Java. Buddhist art is a radiant reflection of the encounter of the Buddha's teachings with the diverse civilizations that came under their sway. It is also an intriguing visual record of the evolution of Buddhist practice and philosophy over a period of more than two millennia....

"Imperial Manchu support and patronage of Buddhism, particulary in Mongolia and Tibet, has often been dismissed as cynical political manipulation. Empire of Emptiness questions this generalization by taking a look at the huge outpouring of Buddhist painting, sculpture, and decorative arts that Qing court artists produced for distribution throughout the empire. It examines some of the Buddhist underpinning of the Qing view of rulership and shows just...

This pioneering work opened C.G. Jung's eyes to the psychological and spiritual significance of the Indian mandala, and it remains the clearest introduction to the essence of Indian art and yoga for both the specialist and general reader. Heinrich Zimmer (1890-1943) was the first to identify the radical difference between Western classical and Indian art. His revolutionary approach to understanding the stylized, often sexual, sacred symbols of India...