Creation of Illuminated Buddhist Text and Images

15 June, 2026

We are deeply honoured to welcome Dr Wendelin Morrison, scholar of Buddhist Art and Archaeology of the Silk Roads, to present Interfaith Perspectives on the Creation of Illuminated Images and Text for Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau for the International Interfaith Reading Group ART in Interfaith Contexts.

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Title: Interfaith Perspectives on the Creation of Illuminated Images and Text for Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau.

Abstract: Interfaith perspectives on the creation of images and text offers an opportunity to reflect on the artistic and scribal creation of Buddhist manuscripts as non-dual (Skt. advaya) works of transmission. Exploring nirmanakaya (physical manifestations) of the Buddha through the illumination of manuscripts as a visual transmission of the sacred practice contained within a text, Dr Morrison will contemplate the parallels and significance of faith practices in the โ€˜writingโ€™ of Christian icons and medieval illuminated manuscripts. With images described as โ€˜illustratingโ€™ or โ€˜decoratingโ€™ religious texts regularly encountered in academic works on illuminated manuscripts, the importance of understanding the sacred relationship between image and text is ripe for review. Drawing on her experiences as an artist/writer of both Buddhist thangka and Christian icon and illumination, Dr Morrison will discuss the importance of bringing faith in practice to the interpretation of early Buddhist manuscripts.

Speaker’s biography: Dr Wendelin Morrison is an independent scholar of Buddhist Art and Archaeology of the Silk Roads, a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and practicing artist of traditional Tibetan Buddhist thangka. Recently awarded the British Academy/Sino-British Fellowship Trustโ€™s Stein-Arnold Exploration fund for her research on Pigments as Geo-medicine in early Tibetan Buddhist Art, Dr Morrison also undertakes research on the Dunhuang Library Cave and the Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan paintings in its collection.

Chair: Rev Wadigala Samitharathana, Fellow of Oxford Interfaith Forum.

Date: 15 June, 2026

Time: 18:00-19:00 BST | 19:00-20:00 CEST | 10:00-11:00 PDT | 13:00-14:00 EDT

Venue: Online

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