Much of Buddhist art can usefully be thought of as ritual technology-physical pieces that, when arranged systematically, make a given ritual effective. This class is about the Buddhist scientific perspectives underlying the production of such visual art in Tibet, Nepal, and India. The course is organized around cosmological and biological topics such as physical models of the universe, the types of beings that dwell in the world, and the cycles of life and death. Within these topics, we will investigate the relationships between sacred texts, ritual practices, and visual arts as the material culture of religion.
