Tibetan Masterpieces Configured to Create a Three-Dimensional Meditation Map

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

The cosmic Buddha Ratnasambhava, approx. 1200–1300. Tibet, Sakya Monastery. Thangka; colors on cotton.

CALIFORNIA---Beginning March 14, the Asian Art Museum will configure 15 artworks from the museum's collection to transform it Tateuchi Gallery into a three-dimensional mandala for the special exhibition "Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Centers and Mental Maps of Himalyayan Buddhism." Mandalas are geometric maps of Himalayan Buddhist visionary worlds, created by and for adherents of Vajrayana Buddhism ("Lighting Vehicle" Buddhism), a system of meditation that is dependent on art and artists. "Enter the Mandala" creates a mandala that can be entered physically, which is one goal of Lightning Vehicle meditation itself.

Asian Art Museum: "Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Centers and Mental Maps of Himalyah Buddhism" (March 15-October 26); 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA; (415)581-3500; asianart.org