| The Tibetan Cultural Region
While many today will identify Tibet as a troubled Himalayan country conquered by China in recent times and previously ruled by the Dalai Lama theocracy, it is an ancient culture that has had a deep and lasting influence on its neighbours and beyond.
Closely associated with Mahayana or Vajrayana Buddhism and its glorious art and iconography, it began to adopt Buddhism under the Tibetan Kings in the 7th century CE. Initially influenced by both Indian and Chinese Buddhism, a Great Debate before the King saw the Tantric Buddhism then prevalent in India hold sway, and the entire Buddhist canon and commentaries were translated into the Tibetan language using a script developed from an Indian Gupta original. Tibet's subsequent expansion and transformation into a Great Power in the region followed by a period of dominant influence in religious affairs under the Mongol suzerainty has meant that its cultural influence has far exceeded its own borders to include Central Asia and Mongolia, Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, India and China.
While a proportion of the original Buddhist Sanskrit / Prakrit texts (from which most canonical texts ultimately originate) have not survived in their entirety, the Tibetan editions have. Most importantly, in the course of translation the Tibetans developed a comprehensive compendium of Tibetan Buddhist terminology listing Sanskrit originals called Mahavyutpatti: this has ensured consistent accuracy and fidelity to the original. It is also one of the principal reasons why Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan art and iconography and Tibetan language are considered essential to a serious study of any form of Mahayana Buddhism, being a complete repository and representation of the Indian original from which all others derive.
In addition to its unparalleled thangkas, paintings, sculptures, religious and ritual artifacts and the vast body of textual materials associated with Buddhism and by syncretic association its native equivalent Bon, Tibet is also recognised for its idiosyncratic and influential vernacular architecture, its unique woollen and textile tradition (Tibetan carpets being much prized) and its highly collectible wooden furniture.
Kodansha Europe is fortunate in representing two publishers whose excellence in Tibetan Art and Culture is recognised and widely valued: Serindia and Orchid Press. Fields covered include
Tibetan Art - Tibetan Painting - Tibetan Sculpture - Tibetan History - Tibetan Iconography - Thangkas - Tibetan Textiles and Carpets - Tibetan Architecture - Tibetan language learning - Buddhism / Buddhist philosophy - Tibetan Architecture - Buddhist symbols - Bon religion - The Dalai Lama
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