The universe is divided into two realities, relative and absolute, according to Tibetan Buddhism. The relative world might be either the mundane realm of samsaric suffering or the remarkable realm of universal pleasure and satisfaction.

The liberation of a joyous connectedness to everything is felt by those who have attained enlightenment, who recognize their fundamental oneness with the cosmos. With the help of Alice Kandell's extraordinary collection of artwork, A Shrine for Tibet beautifully illustrates this philosophy. The artwork spans the centuries from the 15th-century Ganden Renaissance to the 17th-century construction of the Potala Palace and into the 18th and 19th centuries, when Mongolian and Manchu Qing Buddhist art flourished in the Tibetan tradition.