Tag Archives: Buddhism

1740: Thangka Depicting Vajrabhairava

Posted on February 15, 2019 by corvusfugit

Thangka Depicting Vajrabhairava (1740) This thangka, a type of Tibetan painting that uses ground mineral pigment on cotton or silk, shows Yamantaka Vajrabhairava, a deity in the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He is shown with nine heads (the largest … Continue reading →

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1946: New Year’s

Posted on January 1, 2018 by corvusfugit

Horace Bristol: The New Moon, January 1, 1946 During the Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri [“Saidaiji Temple Naked Festival”] in Okayama, participants wear only a Japanese loincloth called a fundoshi as they compete to find one of two camphor-scented batons that … Continue reading →

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1928: Holiday in Bangkok

Posted on December 9, 2017 by corvusfugit

    Map, frontispiece, and cover of the Royal State Railways’s Guide to Bangkok with Notes on Siam (1928); the frontispiece shows Wat Arun at night.  

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2016: Larung Gar

Posted on December 3, 2017 by corvusfugit

Larung Gar, Tibet (32.1356°N 100.4565°E) Hundreds of dwellings—all painted in a vibrant red color—make up Larung Gar, the world’s largest Buddhist institute. The settlement is located in a remote valley in Tibet and contains a population that has grown to … Continue reading →

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848 AD: Parinirvana

Posted on October 15, 2017 by corvusfugit

The Mogao Caves, carved into cliffs near the town of Dunhuang in northwest China, date from the 4th to the 14th century AD and lay along the ancient trade route known as the Silk Road. There are about 500 of them,  … Continue reading →

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2013: Disco Buddha

Posted on August 22, 2017 by corvusfugit

(source)

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14th Century: Watch as I Become a Buddha Even More Quickly than That!

Posted on August 22, 2017 by corvusfugit

The Lotus Sutra is one of the central texts in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism and, for some, is thought to contain the complete and final teaching of the Buddha. It was composed at the turn of the millennium. In … Continue reading →

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2016: Emanation

Posted on June 12, 2017 by corvusfugit

Sukhi Barber: Emanation (2016) (source)

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12th Century: Release from All Sorrows

Posted on May 31, 2017 by corvusfugit

Detail of the Manjushri Mandala at the Temple of the Great Translator, Nako, late eleventh to early twelfth century. The monumental paintings that have survived in the Guge caves and temple-monasteries guide the meditating monk, also the casual visitor, through … Continue reading →

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1915: Impermanence

Posted on May 28, 2017 by corvusfugit

In 1915, Sigmund Freud published a short essay, “On Transience,” in which he addresses in a succinct and poetic way the ideas he had developed for his book Mourning and Melancholia (1917). For Freud, these two states—mourning and melancholia—are different … Continue reading →

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