Subject: Sacred Geography Main Page
Painting Main Page- Buddhafields & Purelands
- Sacred Sites & Pilgrimage
- Sacred Mountains
Videos:
- Sacred Geography: Part 1
- Sacred Geography: Part 2
- Shambhala Pureland
- Wutaishan Mountain
- Tibetan Sacred Landscape (Dr. Charles Ramble)
Buddhafields and Purelands are related to buddhas, bodhisattvas and deities. These locations are described in the sutra and tantra literature. Sacred sites and mountains are physical and geographically located. They are promoted through narrative stories, the imposition of sacredness onto physical space, and related to pilgrimage and journey. Hidden lands 'beyul' are generally not represented in painting. Heavens are related to religious cosmology and the various levels of worldly gods and inhabiting creatures.
Each and every Buddha is said to have their own pureland as do the Eight Great Bodhisattvas and Tara. A small number of meditational deities also have specific and unique locations associated with that specific Tantric logic system; examples are Vajrayogini and Kalachakra. There are also many physical locations in India, the Himalayas and Tibet that are considered sacred due to a natural geomantic situation or by virtue of being blessed by such notable figures as Padmasambhava or others.
Jeff Watt 5-2003 [Updated 12-2012, 9-2016, 6-2017, 11-2021, 7-2024]
Bibliography:
Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo's Guide to Central Tibet. Matthew Akester. Serindia Publications, 2016.
The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide. Keith Dowman. Penguin, 1988.
The Great Stupa of Boudhnath; The Tibetan Legend of the Great Stupa. Keith Dowman. 2002.
A Buddhist Guide to the Power Places of the Kathmandu Valley. Keith Dowman. Vajra Books, Kathmandu, 2007.
Power Places of Kathmandu: Hindu and Buddhist Holy Sites in the Sacred Valley of Nepal. Photographs by Kevin Bubriski. Text by Keith Dowman. Inner Traditions, 1995.
Nepal Mandal : A Pilgrims guide to the Kathmandu Valley. Keith Dowman. 2020.
(The images below are only a selection of examples from the links above).
