Description

This slender publication is intended to celebrate a new, life-enhancing dimension in their drab, mundane existences and in the so-called business model of Sydney L. Moss, Ltd.. It deals with SLM’s recent focus on Japanese sculpture, especially but not uniquely concerned with Shingon (Esoteric) Buddhism. This book exhibits nine pieces of Japanese Buddhist wood temple sculpture. It begins with Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, the healing deity who resides in the Lapis Lazuli Paradise of the East, revitalising health, alleviating suffering and curing anything from disease to the ailment of ignorance. Then Fudō Myō-Ō, the Immovable, the Esoteric Wisdom King of Imperturbability, the indomitable protector of Shingon Buddhism, the guardian and militant defender of Buddha and his teachings. It follows with Bishamon-ten, the God of Wealth and Warriors, but a celestial being known as a deva. Then Amida Nyorai, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is one of the foremost deities in Japanese Buddhism, widely embraced by all sects as the Buddha of pure perception and endless compassion. The next piece is Monju, the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom. Then Aizen Myō-Ō, translatable as “Lust-tainted Wisdom King”, is a wrathful embodiment of Buddha, whose purpose is to teach through fear by warning against the depravity of earthy desires. The second last piece is a portrait sculpture, executed in the yosegi zukuri technique with a hollow centre. The final piece is Senju Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, who comes to help those in need and distress in the human world. 350 x 260mm, hard cover with dust jacket, 64pp, 45 color illustrations Sydney L. Moss Ltd. 2020 NEW Book in mint shape. International Shipping Available. Buy with confidence! S145