An Illustrated History of the Mandala: From Its Genesis to the Kalacakratantra

Gran libro muy explicativo y comparativas de los diferentes mandalas excelentes tablas e ilustraciones lo recomiendo

May be of interest to serious academics, but for others, like myself, it was a dry, very detailed work, presented entirely without color (literally), without passion. Suitable for a limited audience.

I know that many cultures have created and used mandalas throughout history, and I was looking for a book that included information on different civilizations’ histories regarding mandalas. How about Mayan? Celtic? Native American? Wiccan? Satanic? This book only focuses on one, and reads more like a religious textbook than an informative description of mandalas and their origins. They make it seem like Buddhism has the original rights to symmetrical circular designs. Disappointing.

This is an outstanding academic study of the mandala in Indian esoteric Buddhism from the sixth to the eleventh century, based on Dr. Kimiaki Tanaka’s doctoral dissertation. Considering the contents and the volume, it should better be published in hardcover rather than in paperback. The reason why people took the trouble of translating and publishing this book even in the form of paperback is probably that this book is so outstanding and has no parallel in this field. If you are interested in Buddhist arts or iconography, you will understand that it is so unique because it focuses on Buddhist deities and, through studying them, analyzes the relationships between the mandalas and the sutras and tantras which were used as references for them. Since Buddhism almost disappeared in India in the thirteen century and most of the Buddhist literature has been destroyed, the author uses Chinese and Tibetan translations and a few remaining Sanskrit originals, fortunately preserved and found in such countries as Tibet, Nepal and Japan. He extensively makes use of materials in the Tibetan language particularly in tantric Buddhism sections. This is a masterpiece of the century in this field. I rate it five stars, and, if I could, even six stars. The only downside is that you need a lot of time to understand it.