Buddhists believe that the mind has the power to trap us or to liberate us [...]
Vajrapani is the tantric deity who holds the vajra, the indestructible thunderbolt and short scepter, the implement of actively compassionate methods [...]
Vajrayogini is omniscient buddhahood in female form. She is associated with wisdom, which is usually considered a feminine force in Buddhism. Although the [...]
A key political moment—as understood by later Tibetans and Asian emperors—is depicted in this portrait of Phakpa (1235–1280) empowering [...]
Tibet’s most beloved buddha, Tara represents a more peaceful and outwardly benevolent aspect of female power than the fierce goddesses likeDurga or Vajrayogini [...]
As a female buddha, Tara works for the benefit of all beings and has many manifestations. This form, known as White Tara, bestows longevity [...]
This luxuriously draped figure is the 14th–15th century yogi Tangtong Gyelpo. He is reputed to have lived to the age of 124, perhaps with help from the long-life vase he holds in his lap and the medicine in his right hand [...]
Amitayus is the Buddha of Infinite Life, and he can be recognized by the vase he holds in his lap [...]
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This woodblock print would have been a relatively affordable image that a Mongol traveler might have brought back as a souvenir from a pilgrimage to Wutaishan, a holy mountain in North China sacred to Chinese and Tibetan Buddhists [...]
Padmasambhava, “lotus-born,” an Indian teacher said to have been miraculously born in a lotus flower, is revered by all Tibetan Buddhist traditions [...]
This silk appliqué figure is one of eight manifestations of Padmasambhava around a larger central image of the Buddhist master as a part of a giant silk appliqué [...]
Buddha Amitabha, or Buddha of Boundless Light, presides over the pure realm of Sukhavati (the Realm of Bliss), one of five buddha fields, each with a resident guiding Buddha [...]