The Mandala In Nichiren Buddhism Part One Introduction Mandalas Of The Bunei And Kenji Periods Paperback Edition

"The mandala in Nichiren Buddhism" is the first comprehensive analysis of Nichiren's mandala in English. As the total number of pages in a single volume would reach 720, the book has been divided into three parts. In this first volume, the origin and evolution of Nichiren's mandala are examined, while the extant works produced in the Bun'ei and Kenji eras (2.1264 4.1275/4.1275 2.1278) are analyzed in detail. The second volume will thus examine the whole extant corpus produced in the Koan period, while in the third the missing, but catalogued mandalas will be analyzed along with a study of Nichiren's works from an holistic perspective, including the scrolls authored by his immediate disciples and later successors, within the various traditions. Together, these three volumes shall provide the reader with exhaustive information on Nichiren's mandala.

"The mandala in Nichiren Buddhism" is the first comprehensive analysis of Nichichiren's mandalic corpus in English. As the total number of pages in a single volume would reach over 700, the book has been divided into three parts. This second volume covers the analysis of Nichiren's moji-mandala in the Kōan years from 1278 to 1282, the period of his full maturity. The Kōan era represents the peak of Nichiren's works, both from the viewpoint of his philosophy and aesthetics, such as calligraphy, composition style as well as the level of organization of Nichiren's sangha. The early Hokke confraternity centered on Nichiren, was a highly organized and functional group, with a systemized logistics and communication network, covering several provinces around the Japanese archipelago even during Nichiren's exile on Sado Island. Once he transferred to Minobu, his group grew larger and became exceptionally efficient and dynamic.

This volume completes the "Mandala in Nichiren Tradition" series. An analysis of the mandala in Nichiren's tradition would not be complete without the study of the works produced by his immediate disciples as well as their successors in the various schools which took shape after Nichiren's passing. This book contains a great number of original unpublished pictures and mandala diagrams and provides the reader with new information about the mandalas produced by Nichiren, his closest disciples and their successors in the main Nichiren lineages.

Everyone’s heard of mandalas; now we have a uniquely rich history and explanation of their history and meaning. This book is a history of the genesis and development of the mandala from the fifth and sixth centuries, when the mandala first appeared in India, to the eleventh century, when the Kalacakratantra appeared just before the disappearance of Buddhism in India. The 600 years of Indian esoteric Buddhism that concluded the 1,700-year history of Indian Buddhism could be said to have been the history of the development of the mandala. (The Kalacakratantra integrated earlier mandala theories into a single system and established a monumental system unprecedented in the history of esoteric Buddhism. It was thus the culmination of the development of Indian Buddhism over a period of 1,700 years.) The analysis is at the micro level and includes numerous illustrations and charts. Particular attention is paid to proper names, mudras, and mantras that have been overlooked by scholars in philosophy and doctrine, and the author tackles issues that cannot be explained solely from a historical viewpoint, such as geometric patterns, the arrangement of deities, the colors, and their meaning in Buddhist doctrine.

This intriguing, thought-provoking study examines the mandala's doctrinal basis, its use as a means of reintegration, its symbolism, and other aspects of its expression of the infinite possibilities of the subconscious.

The first broad study of Japanese mandalas to appear in a Western language, this volume interprets mandalas as sanctified realms where identification between the human and the sacred occurs. The author investigates eighth- to seventeenth-century paintings from three traditions: Esoteric Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and the kami-worshipping (Shinto) tradition. It is generally recognized that many of these mandalas are connected with texts and images from India and the Himalayas. A pioneering theme of this study is that, in addition to the South Asian connections, certain paradigmatic Japanese mandalas reflect pre-Buddhist Chinese concepts, including geographical concepts. In convincing and lucid prose, ten Grotenhuis chronicles an intermingling of visual, doctrinal, ritual, and literary elements in these mandalas that has come to be seen as characteristic of the Japanese religious tradition as a whole. This beautifully illustrated work begins in the first millennium B.C.E. in China with an introduction to the Book of Documents and ends in present-day Japan at the sacred site of Kumano. Ten Grotenhuis focuses on the Diamond and Womb World mandalas of Esoteric Buddhist tradition, on the Taima mandala and other related mandalas from the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, and on mandalas associated with the kami-worshipping sites of Kasuga and Kumano. She identifies specific sacred places in Japan with sacred places in India and with Buddhist cosmic diagrams. Through these identifications, the realm of the buddhas is identified with the realms of the kami and of human beings, and Japanese geographical areas are identified with Buddhist sacred geography. Explaining why certain fundamental Japanese mandalas look the way they do and how certain visual forms came to embody the sacred, ten Grotenhuis presents works that show a complex mixture of Indian Buddhist elements, pre-Buddhist Chinese elements, Chinese Buddhist elements, and indigenous Japanese elements.

This Short Introductory Book Reveals The Sacred Of The Complex Form Of Mandala In And Its Manifestations: Symbol Of Universe, Image Of God And Aid To Inner Peace.

Every one of these Tibetan mandalas is rich in spiritual meaning, and the accompanying quotations and sayings will deepen your knowledge of this very special culture. Contemplate the Wheel of Becoming, a symbol of rebirth usually found in monasteries, or a transcendent Adibuddha Vajrasattva, a representation of penetrating absoluteness and the embodiment of the limitless. Other mandalas include the Eight Symbols of Happiness, the four-armed Manjushri (for wisdom), Sacrificial Offerings, and the national flag of Tibet. Each consists of a periphery and a center, which stand for the beginning and end of all being, and as meditators color them in, they will foster a deeper understanding of the universe and the inner landscape of the human soul.

Exhibition catalog, Co-pub. with Asia Society Gall & Tibet House.