Tibetan Buddhist Symbols

The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols is a portal into the rich, multifaceted, and profound symbolism of Tibetan sacred art. Robert Beer provides a deep and encompassing insight into the vast array of symbols and attributes that appear within the complex iconography of Tibetan Buddhism. The succinct descriptions that accompany his detailed line drawings reveal the origins, meanings, and functions of these symbols. Beer unravels the multiple layers of symbolism and meaning contained within the iconography, affording the reader a panoramic vision into the deeper dimensions of this sacred art.

Drawn largely from Beer's monumental work The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, the meticulous brush drawings in this book depict all of the major Buddhist symbols and motifs, including the various groups of auspicious symbols; cosmological symbols; natural and mythical animals, such as the dragon, garuda, and makara; the entire assembly of ritual tantric implements and weapons; magical and wrathful symbols; handheld emblems, attributes, and plants; esoteric Vajrayana offerings; and mudras, or ritual hand gestures.

Long a student and practitioner of Tibetan thangka painting, Beer has recently concentrated on iconographic drawings and symbols. Here he synthesizes material from his 1999 Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs and his contribution to the 2000 Deities of Tibetan Buddhism by Martin Willson and Martin Brauen into an easily accessible format. He provides a detailed table of contents, but no index. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

For many years a student and practitioner of Buddhist art, Beer published The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs in 1999. His new work, a synthesis of that encyclopedia and his "pictorial index" for Martin Willson's and Martin Brauen's Deities of Tibetan Buddhism, covers much the same territory. Readers will find many fewer line drawings and generally less explanatory text per topic, and some symbols and motifs did not make the transition at all. Nevertheless, most public and academic libraries will find this new handbook the better choice for general reference collections and preferable to Tatjana and Mirabai Blau's Buddhist Symbols. The encyclopedia's long, complex essay is here broken down into more straightforward, individual entries within chapters. In addition, Buddhist terminology is more clearly presented, and a glossary is included. Though the handbook still lacks an index (a near fatal flaw when entries are not alphabetical, as is the case here), access is afforded by a table of contents listing entries for individual symbols and a few cross references. Recommended for public libraries.-James R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina Lib., Asheville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Robert Beer has studied and practiced Tibetan thangka painting for thirty years, including five years of study with master artists Jampa of Dharamsala and Khamtrül Rinpoche of Tashijong. Beer is one of the first Westerners to become actively involved in this art form. Over the last two decades he has concentrated on an extensive series of iconographical drawings depicting the major deities, lineage holders, and symbols that occur in the spectrum of Tibetan art.