A mandala is a cosmic diagram used as an aid to meditation. This notecard set presents four stunning mandalas from Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. Each is rendered on cotton in vivid pigments that dazzle and delight.

In the center of the oldest mandala is Vajrabhairava, also known as Yamantaka, the conqueror of Yama, God of Death. Another mandala from Tibet features a female bodhisattva, Sitatapatra Aparajita, a protective deity known as the invincible goddess of the white parasol. In the Mongolian mandala, a mystic thunderbolt diagram is set against a landscape of green mountains and auspicious clouds. At the center of the mandala from Nepal is Vajravarahi and her retinue within a pair of overlapping triangles. The female (down-pointing) and male (up-pointing) principles represent wisdom and compassion, whose union leads to enlightenment.

The images on these cards are reproduced from mandalas in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art.

Contains five each of the following notecards:

Mandala with thunderbolts, 18001900, Mongolia Mandala of the Buddhist deity Vajravarahi, 1869, Nepal Mandala of the Buddhist deity Vajrabhairava, 16001700, Ngor Monastery, Tibet Mandala of the Buddhist deity Sitatapatra Aparajita, 17001800, Tibet