Himalayan Art Resources

Subject: Sacred Geography Main Page

Painting Main Page

- Buddhafields & Purelands

- Sacred Sites & Pilgrimage

- Sacred Mountains


Videos:
- Sacred Geography: Part 1
- 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]