In "Creating the Universe: Depictions of the Cosmos in Himalayan Buddhism," past fellow Eric Huntington presents examples of visual art and architecture, primary texts, ritual ideologies, and material practices-accompanied by extensive explanatory diagrams-to reveal the immense complexity of cosmological thinking in Himalayan Buddhism. Employing comparisons across function, medium, culture, and history, he exposes cosmology as a fundamental mode of engagement with numerous aspects of religion, from preliminary lessons to the highest rituals for enlightenment. This wide-ranging work will interest scholars and students of many fields, including Buddhist studies, religious studies, art history, and area studies. Winner, 2018 Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities.
Read book review on The New York Review of Books; March 26, 2020 Issue