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; hand-held emblems, attributes; esoteric Vajrayana offerings; and mudras, or ritual hand gestures.

This book will be valuable not only for those interested in Buddhism, symbolism, and Tibetan religious art, but also for artists, designers, and others who look toward the East in a search for meaning.

Robert Beer has studied and practiced Tibetan thangka painting for more than thirty years, and was 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.

262 pages. Paperback.