Living Practices

In Himalayan cultures most objects are created with a specific purpose, often in the context of religious practices or special occasions marking life events, but also as part of everyday secular activities. These images and objects function as part of living practices, whether individual, familial, professional, or communal.

Secular Aims

Religious rituals and the commissioning of art can serve everyday secular needs, the most common being wealth, health, and long life.

These more worldly concerns are not seen as antithetical to religious goals. Good health, long life, and material support, including the leisure time for spiritual pursuits that wealth affords, can all be beneficial to an individual’s religious practice.

Objects in the Exhibition

Related Essays

Project Himalayan Art
108 Object EssaysTibet’s Most Sacred Temple
Jokhang Temple, Lhasa
Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 620–640
Crowned Buddha with copper face, closed eyes, and textile adornments sits before carved nimbusProject Himalayan Art
108 Object EssaysIn the Presence of the Buddha
Central Shrine Image of Kwa Baha (Hiranyavarna Mahavihar)
Patan (Lalitpur), Nepal; ca. 11th century

Related Theme

Artists & Patrons

Artists in Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian traditions produce works, mostly religious in nature, for large monastic institutions, royal courts, and a wide range of individual patrons.

Artists & Patrons
Merit
In Himalayan cultures religious merit is the overarching reason for creating, commissioning, dedicating, and using religious works of art.
Religious Goals
Tantric practitioners strive to transform themselves by using meditative and ritual tools with the ultimate goal of enlightenment or awakening.
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Medical Instruments

Tibet
date unknown
Metalwork
C2002.7.4a-l (HAR 65092)
Rubin Museum of Art
Gift of Arnold Lieberman
12 bronze-colored medical instruments with vajra-tipped handles: scalpels, probes, and hooks
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