This Incarnation (Exquisite Selections of Tibetan Buddhist Gold and Bronze Sculptures in China · Volume 2): Exquisite Selections of Tibetan Buddhist Gold and Bronze Sculptures in China

Author: China Cultural Relics Circulation Center
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: The principal deities of all Tibetan Buddhist schools are mostly the same, though each school places varying emphasis on certain deities. The most commonly practiced deities include the (Mahāvajra), (Vajrapani), (Vajrasattva), (Vajrapā?i), (Acala), (Mahā??uka), (U??ī?avijaya), and the Four-Armed Avalokite?vara, among others. In the depictions of these deities, apart from the Four-Armed Avalokite?vara and a few others like Vajrapā?i, most are shown in a wrathful form. There are various interpretations of the significance of wrathful deities in Vajrayāna Buddhism, but it is difficult to elaborate on them here. The deities depicted in this book are the objects of visualization for practitioners engaged in Vajrayāna practice. Besides the Vajrapā?i Buddha, most of these deities are more commonly depicted in thangkas. These two types of Buddhist images are portable and suitable for practitioners to meditate anytime and anywhere.