According to sacred texts; the historical Buddha encouraged his disciples to make pilgrimages to sites associated with his life. As sacred images of the Buddha proliferated over time; it is said that his relics were divided among 84;000 South Asian sites of Buddhist worship; or stupas. This abundance of sacred sites in turn rendered pilgrimage and worship increasingly prominent influences on Asian culture and daily life.Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art employs sacred objects; textiles; sculpture; manuscripts; and paintings to discuss the relationship between Buddhist pilgrimage and Asia’s artistic production. Accompanying an exhibition of approximately 90 extraordinary objects; many of which have never before been displayed publicly; this book addresses the process of the sacred journey in its entirety; including discussion of pilgrimage motivation; ritual preparation; and worship at the sacred destination. Exceptional and visually stunning examples of painted mandalas; reliquaries; prayer wheels; and traveling shrines demonstrate that pilgrims and pilgrimage inspired centuries of artistic production and shaped the development of visual culture in Asia.Through insightful essays by a team of scholars; Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art illuminates artwork’s complex role in Buddhist culture; in which art serves as a form of memory and a bridge to the spiritual world as well as a functional tool with temporal purposes.
#855075 in Books 2008-05-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.10 x 1.11 x 5.56l; 1.27 #File Name: 0300136234416 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Singing the praises of GlobalizationBy Joshua RosenblumPart economic history; part paen to increasing economic integration; Chandra has written a highly readable account and provided a good argument for just what the term "globalization" means.Chandra begins at; well; the beginning - when mankind first walked out of Africa and began its dominance of the earth. The following chapters relate how the ensuing centuries brought these disparate cousins back together through trade; war and missionary work (to include; quite perceptively; the 20th century missionaries - the NGO community.)Chandra is a proponent of the globalization process; and what he gets across in his book is that not only is this process generally positive one for humanity - it's something that has been going on for a long; long time. Basically since humans spread across the globe; we have had "globalization."This may be a surprise to those who think that the revolution is coming. However; Chandra makes a good case that there is nothing particularly nefarious about globalization; and that; despite its rough edges (and he does not pull punches when discussing the downsides) globalization is the best opportunity for the global have-nots to better their plight.All in all; a very good read0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One of the BestBy AristerosA compelling narrative of the globalization process as something essentially human rather than an invention of 1980s bankers and computer scientists. Entertaining and informative glimpses into history is presented in such a way as to make it not feel too much like a textbook. Provides insight into current policy without being perscriptive or heavy-handed.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Bound Together is enthralling.By Dominic CaraThe chapters are succinct and the author has a global; over-reaching perspective that captivates the reader. I looked forward to reading it every night for a week. Bound Together surpassed my expectations. I initially ordered it along with three other books on similar topics about capitalism and globalization. I read the others first because I thought they would be better. However; Bound Together was the best of the bunch.
