Presents the gospel of Buddhism as revealed in Buddhist scriptures, and looks at the role of Buddhish thought in the development of Asiatic culture

Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism

Religion & Spirituality

Ananda Coomaraswamy

Buddhism

Citadel Pr

Excerpt from The Dance of Siva: Fourteen Indian Essays Of Buddhism I shall not speak at great length, but rather in parenthesis; for the Buddhists never directly attempted to organ ize human society, thinking that, rather than concern himself with polity, the wise man should leave the dark state of life in the world to follow the bright state of the mendicant.1 Buddhist doctrine is a medicine solely directed to save the individual from burning, not in a future hell, but in the present fire of his own thirst. It assumes that to escape from the eternal recurrence is not merely the summum bonum, but the whole purpose of life; he is the wisest who devotes himself immediately to this end; he the most loving who devotes himself to the enlightenment of others. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Dance of Siva: Fourteen Indian Essays (Classic Reprint)

Hinduism

Forgotten Books

The Mirror of Gesture is the English translation of the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikesvara which was originally published with a Telugu interpretation by Madabhushi Tiruvenkatachari of Nidamangalam in 1874. The Abhinaya Darpana, according to Nandikesvara, who is a legendary figure, is an abridgement of the Bharatarnava, an exposition on the art of dancing. For those not acquainted with the Indian dramatic technique, it may be difficult to understand the importance of such texts. However, as Coomaraswamy has pointed out, this work may be of immense interest to the living actor in the European theatre and will not only be profitable for him "to adopt the actual gesture language of the East, but it may inspire him with the enthusiasm and the patience needful for the re-creation of the drama in his own environment." This book, which will serve as an introduction to the Indian dramatic technique and its essentials which imply not merely a thorough understanding of the nyaya, nrtta and nrtya but also the conditioning aesthetic qualities of rasa, bhava, etc. Indian acting and dancing, which are, in fact, dovetailed, possess a special hieratic significance and can be understood by a cultivated audience. In general, however, natya also corresponded to the common and collective need of the folk. To those interested in a study of Indian arts in general, the present manual is of great importance. Gesture, as a means of conveying and interpreting ideas extends beyond the stage into the domains of plastic art, painting and statuary. The mudra, an essential component of Indian acting or dancing, is of equally great importance in studying the graphic or sculptural representations.

Mirror of Gesture

Politics & Social Sciences

Gopala K. Duggirala

Social Sciences

Munshiram Manoharlal

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Books by Ananda Coomaraswamy