In Focus Tour: Realms of the Dharma
- Thu, Oct 9, 2025
- 1:30 pm - 2 pm PT
- Resnick Pavilion | LACMA
-
Free with museum admission
Join a LACMA docent for a 60-minute tour of Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia.
Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia presents an international survey of Buddhism and Buddhist art, beginning with the religion’s origins in India and following its spread through mainland and island Southeast Asia (Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia), the Himalayas (Kashmir, Nepal, and Tibet), and East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). Incorporating 180 masterpieces of pan-Asian Buddhist art, the exhibition introduces key concepts of Buddhist thought and practice viewed through the prism of rare and extraordinarily beautiful Buddhist sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects.
Drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection, with several significant loans from private collections, the exhibition explores the life of the Buddha, the role of the bodhisattva or Buddhist savior, Buddhist cosmology, and such key concepts as dharma, karma, nirvana, mantra, mudra, and mandala. The show will focus on art associated with such key phases of Buddhism as Theravada (early monastic Buddhism), Mahayana (the “Great Vehicle”), Vajrayana (the “Diamond Vehicle”—tantric or esoteric Buddhism), and Chan (Zen).
Please be aware that these tours are volunteer-led and subject to cancellation. Ask a member of our team on the day for details.
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Alfred E. Mann Charities, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, Flora L. Thornton Foundation, U.S. Bank, and The Yabuki Family Foundation.
Image Credit: Installation photo, Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 11, 2025–July 12, 2026, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Alfred E. Mann Charities, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, Flora L. Thornton Foundation, U.S. Bank, and The Yabuki Family Foundation.
Image Credit: Installation photo, Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 11, 2025–July 12, 2026, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA