British Library art exhibition – Buddhism origins, traditions and contemporary life.

Since the first seven steps that prince Siddhartha Gautama walked right after his birth in a garden in Lumbini to his death in Kushinagar, Buddha’s life story and teachings inspired cultures all across Asia and Buddhism became one of the world’s biggest religions. The different approaches to the Buddhist philosophy in different countries created a rich diversity of traditions and lineages that vary tremendously from region to region.

Today the Buddhist principles of compassion and tolerance, the practice of meditation and mindfulness and the concept of enlightenment have crossed over into Western culture acquiring a global scale. However not so many people are aware of the vaste diversity of the cultural footprints that Buddha’s journey left around the world. The current exhibition on Buddhism at the British Library in London wants to be a showcase of this journey.

https://youtu.be/06EhjV8UQO8

Among delicate scriptures, illustrations painted on tree barks or leaves, silk scrolls of sutras and ancient objects, the show displays more then 120 artifacts from 20 countries and it covers a time span of 2,000 years.

We are happy and honored to announce that among these beautiful artworks you can admire the thangka painting of the Wheel of life painted by our master artist Buddha Lama and adorned with a silk brocade created by our dear tailor Susmi Tamang.

The British Library dedicated an entire wall to the thangka and it is on display until the 23 of February 2020 as centerpiece of the exhibition!

Both master Lama and Mrs. Tamang, our thangka school and all our team is deeply grateful to the lead curator of the exhibition Jana Igunma for commissioning the thangka, for her passion, kindness and care. Thank you also to all the staff of the British Library for such an amazing opportunity and for the generous contribution to the artists and artisans of our community.

Sadly it’s not possible for us to attend to this beautiful event however we are all following with excitement the articles, the twits and the photos that many visitors are posting on social media. Here some images:

Life-of-Buddha-British-Library-in-London

Buddhism-Books-at-British-Library

Buddhist-Art-at-British-Library

Buddhist-Sutras

Old-Buddhist-Illustration

Tibetan-Art-at-British-Library-in-London

The British Library also planned a series of events during the exhibition. People that are interested in the Buddhist teachings and practices can join different courses and classes on Mindfulness, Buddhist art, meditation, Zen calligraphy and much more.
You can find more info and the schedule of these events at the British Library official website.

If you are in London or you plan to visit the city during the coming holidays don’t miss the exhibition, it is open until 23 of February 2020.
More info at: British Library Buddhism Event.
Email: [email protected]
Contact number: +44 (0)1937 546060.
They offer 10% discount on groups of 10+ people or if you book online.

Namaste.