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Vajrayāna Art and Iconography
Author(s) -
Andresen Jensine
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/0591-2385.00281
Subject(s) - iconography , buddhism , astrology , alchemy , ceremony , art , literature , dance , art history , history , archaeology
Iconographic imagery in the Indo‐Tibetan Buddhist Tantric (i.e., Vajrayāna) tradition is replete with polymorphic symbolic forms. Tantric texts themselves are multivalent, addressing astronomy, astrology, cosmology, history, embryology, physiology, pharmacology, alchemy, botany, philosophy, and sexuality. The Sr? Kaālacakra , a medieval Indo‐Tibetan manuscript of great import, de‐scribes ritual visualization sequences in whichpractitioners visualize elaborate manidiala designs and deified yab‐yum (father‐mother) consort couples. The Kālacakra system is the preeminent conduit for the globalization of Tibetan Buddhism, and contemporary enactments of its initiation ceremony incorporate a variety of aesthetic genres, including sand manidiala construction and ritual dance.