Exotic chanting and the ringing of bells drifts from the corners of the dark room. All around are Buddhist statues darting sharp glances; paintings of buddhas and bodhisattvas in bright primary colors; and erotic and grotesque depictions of intertwined male and female deities.
This isn't a Tibetan monastery, but the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, where an exhibition titled "Mandala: Deities of Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhism" aims to introduce different aspects of Buddhism as it is practiced overseas to people more accustomed to the beliefs and imagery found in this country.
With more than 300 exhibits from Nepal, Tibet, India, Mongolia and Bhutan, the primary focus of the exhibition is on the mandala, a symbolic diagram used in sacred rites and meditation in Buddhist Tantrism. The mandala visualizes the world of the buddhas in an easy-to-understand way and shows that the universe and the self have the same structure.