Buddhist Stupas in Asia: The Shape of Perfection (Lonely Planet Pictorial)

Transcending architecture and archaeology, the stupa is the living embodiment of Buddhist teachings – a harmonising of the physical with the spiritual. It remains one of the oldest and most persistent religious symbols still in everyday use. This beautifully illustrated, full-colour hardback explores the spread of stupa building across India and Asia, encapsulating the lasting appeal and allure of stupas to travellers, scholars and those interested in architecture and religion. Buddhist Stupas in Asia: The Shape of Perfection is a lavish exploration of this religious and architectural icon of Asia and India.

• more than 250 beautiful photographs
• ten pages of transparent architectural overlays depicting plans and elevations of major stupas
• exhaustive coverage of 13 countries: India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Java, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam
• learned and authoritative narration to explain the symbolism, rituals and mystic power associated with these monuments, great and small
• detailed investigations of the world’s most significant Buddhist sites, from Angkor in Cambodia to Borobudur in Java, the largest Buddhist monument in the world

Joe Cummings was born in New Orleans, and raised in California, France and Washington DC. In high school he developed a taste for rock guitar and subversive politics, playing in a succession of garage bands while publishing an underground newspaper. After he graduated from university, the Peace Corps granted his request to be posted to Thailand, where he served as an English lecturer at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Bang Mot, Thonburi, while studying Buddhism at Wat Bowonniwet. He later earned a master's degree in South Asian Civilization from the University of California at Berkeley, and was a scholar in residence at the East-West Center in Hawaii.