Published by: World Tibet Network News Issue Id: 98/01/05

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) Compassion and mercy are the keys to building a harmonious world, while wisdom can endow human beings with these traits. This is the spirit that runs throughout Tibetan Buddhism. Now an upcoming exhibition will show residents of Taiwan how this spirit has been depicted in art.

"The Sacred Art of Tibet," an exhibition sponsored by the local mass-circulation China Times daily, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Tibetan Culture Center in New York, will open here on Jan. 16.

The collection of more than 190 pieces of Tibetan art meant to present wisdom and compassion has been selected from a total of 11 prestigious museums in the United States, Sweden, Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada and Britain, as well as from 22 private collections around the world, including those of the Zimmerman and Ronge families.

Including rare tangkas -- which are a kind of Tibetan religious painting on fabric, usually portraying the Buddha or lamas - and gold-embroidered bronze Buddha sculptures, the precious cultural artifacts on display date from the 10th to 19th centuries, said China Times President Huang Chao-sung, who announced the upcoming exhibition during a news conference here Saturday.

He pointed out that prior to coming to Taiwan, the precious Tibetan treasures toured the United States, Germany, Spain, Britain and Japan, giving people in those countries a glimpse of the brilliant colors and solemn gestures that are an integral part of Tibet's lifestyle and culture, and receiving in turn the warmest of responses.

The exhibition has been organized by Marylin M. Rhie, a famous scholar in Tibetan affairs from the US-based Smith College, and Professor Robert Thurman of Columbia University. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, spoke highly of the exhibition last spring when visiting Taiwan. At that time, the Tibetan treasures were on display in Japan.

Although it has had historically close links to Xinjiang and Qinghai, two of its fellow regions in mainland China, as well as to India and Mongolia, Tibet, a remote area, developed a unique religious culture and lifestyle.

Studying the cultural artifacts and art can help unvei the spiritually rich culture of Tibet, a mysterious land largely sealed off from the rest of the world for centuries by mountains and deserts, said Huang, who expressed the hope that the display can help guide Taiwan people on a spiritual journey. (By Elizabeth Hsu)