Since the publication in English of the Theory and Practice of Mandala by Giuseppe Tucci in 1961, our knowledge of the subject has increased considerably. Two-dimensional paintings (Tibetan: thanka, Skt.: paubha) have been displayed in many art exhibitions, reproduced photographically, and analysed in readable books as well as in articles in specialised journals. Three-dimensional mandalas like, for instance, the Barabadur in Java recently renovated by UNESCO, have been visited by many thousands of tourists as well as pilgrims. In America, Europe and Asia, monks have made and unmade numerous sand-mandalas openly, in public. Mandalas are, indeed, much less secret than they used to be. Yet, up to now, mandalas have largely been studied outside the context of their use: in museums, in exhibitions and in libraries — This volume highlights, perhaps for the first time, the techniques whereby mandala-schemes are projected in thought, belief and action, on to widely differing natural landscapes. Putting together the research findings of a group of Buddhist scholars from America, Austria, England, France, Germany and New Zealand, Professor Macdonald tries to underscore the linkages between mandalas and landscapes in varying eco-systems between Afghanistan and Japan — with special focus on their geographical contexts and socio-cultural traditions. Each of the ten studies, included here, is supported by relevant illustrative material and extensive bibliographical references. Embodied in Mandala and Landscape are the research results from field-work carried out in China, Nepal, Pakistan, Japan and Tibet. It is, as such, invaluable to scholars of Buddhist Studies, specially the researchers involved with the mandalas in South Asia and elsewhere.

The teachings of Buddha are timeless and priceless. The eightfold path as preached by Buddha is still relevant and concurrent with non-violence and compassion in its central point and can answer most of the problems that the materialistic world is facing due to ignorance as its root cause. The Tibetan books were well preserved by the Lamas in their monasteries throughout centuries and in live conditions. India, once the source of religion for Tibet, lost its Buddhist treatises during the past few centuries. Tibetan Buddhist treatises are considered the most authentic source for restoration of Buddhist teaching in the Indian sub-continent. Nyingma, the first ever sect of Buddhism in Tibet was introduced by Padmasambhava of India and still it is in practice. The Gelug sect is the fourth in succession and it claims to have the largest number of followers not only among Tibetans but also popular in the eyes of Western Buddhists, beside others, since more and more Gelug monks are invited to deliver lectures about Buddhism in the West. The responsible factors, inter alia, are perhaps the simplified and elaborate teachings about the altruistic state of mind i.e. Bodhicitta, great compassion, teachings on calming the mind and discerning the real (zhi Nas and Lha Thon) which carry most of the answers to the problems which the world is facing. The present book is an attempt to disseminate the teachings of Buddha from the purest available sources i.e. Buddhism in Tibet. It is a tribute to the peace loving Tibetans who have lost their homeland but still preserve the Buddhist teachings among themselves.