This is a lucid and readable account of thangka painting -- a form of scroll painting integral to Tibetan Buddhist worship. Tibetans were often advised by their religious preceptors to commission a painting for the 'removal' of physical or mental obstacles, or to create the prerequisites for 'a long and healthy life'. Like any other virtuous deed, the commissioning of religious art was believed to earn merit. This book has thangkas from renowned private and public collections the world over and from the collection of H H the Dalai Lama's private chapel (Namgyal Monastery), and from his collection donated to the Library of Works and Archives in Dharmasala, India