Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia brings together some 220 works of Buddhist art from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan.

The artworks, all from the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), offer a broad perspective on the birth of Buddhism in South Asia and its spread to other Asian countries. Showing the diversity of Buddhist schools, the authors explore the life of the historical Buddha and the importance of his key teachings, the path of the bodhisattva or Buddhist savior, Buddhist cosmology and the concepts of multiple Buddhas and heavens, the role of Buddhist goddesses, and the development of esoteric visualization practices.

Throughout the book are full color illustrations featuring representations of the Buddha, stupas or reliquaries, religious manuscripts, paintings and sculptures depicting various Buddhist deities, portraits of Buddhist masters, and ritual objects. Buddhism’s incredible expansion was in part due to the ability of its principles to be adapted and assimilated with a range of pre-existing belief systems. This book celebrates that achievement.

Edited with text by Stephen Little, Tushara Bindu Gude. Foreword by Michael Govan.

- Hardcover
- 288 pages, 9 x 11 in.
- 254 color illistrations
- Published 2025