Introduction 7 Basis in Doctrine and Worship 11 Symbols in Scenes of the Life of the Buddha 14 Jātakas 15 Birth 17 First Seven Steps, First Meditation and Great Renunciation 19 Enlightenment (Bodhi Tree) 21 Tree and Throne 24 Footprints 26 First Sermon (Wheel) 27 Wheel atop column 29 Walking path (cankrama) 29 Nirväna (Stüpa) 30 Groups and Combinations of Symbols 35 Tree, wheel and stüpa side-by-side or above one another 35 Combinations forming the body of the Buddha 38 Symbolism of a Cosmological and Universal Nature 40 Universal Monarch (cakravurtin) 41 World axis/Wheel atop column 41 Variants of Meaning 43 Sacred person 43 Sacred Place 44 Sacred Object 45 Spectrum of meanings of Stüpa 46 Objects of veneration: body relics, sacred utensils, sacred symbols (farīrika, paribbogika, uddeśika) 47 Genesis of the Buddha Image 47 Preliminary phases 47 Transitional phase 49 Basis of the Buddha image 53 A Principle that Transcends History 55 Emptiness of Images 55 Stages of knowledge 56 Transcending of vision 56 Image and symbol as yantra 57 Surviving Older Symbols 59 Footprints 59 Wheel and wheel atop column 61 Stūpa 62 Pagoda as receptacle for relics and world symbol 64 Relics inside Buddha images 64 New Symbols in Mahāyāna Buddhism 68 Vajra 69 Symbols in mandalas 69 Geometric symbols: triangle, circle 71 Mudrā/ seal-sign 73 Word, Letter, Sound 74 Mantra, dhāranī, bīja 74 Siddhaṃ script 75 «Holy Title» of the Lotus Sūtra 77 Sound / silence 79 Zen Symbols 81 Geometric symbols 81 Empty circle 82 Mirror 83 Full moon 84 Sengai's «Universe» 86 Objects from everyday life 88 Empty pictorial space 88 Handwriting (bokuseki) 90 VOID/Original face 92 Portraits (chinsō) 93 Picrure and non-picture 93 Appendix 98 Bibliography 98 Glossary of Chinese-Japanese Characters 106 Source of Illustrations 106
