Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

The late Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, curator of Indian art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, uniquely combined art historian, philosopher, orientalist, linguist, and expositor in his person. His knowledge of the arts and handcrafts of the Orient was unexcelled and his numerous monographs on Oriental art either established or revolutionized entire fields. He was also a great Orientalist, with an almost unmatched understanding of traditional culture. He covered the philosophic and religious experience of the entire premodern world, east and west, and for him primitive, medieval European, and classical Indian experiences of truth and art were only different dialects in a common language. Finally, Coomaraswamy was a provocative writer, whose erudition was expressed in a delightful, aphoristic style. The nine essays in this book are among his most stimulating. They discuss such matters as the true function of aesthetics in art, the importance of symbolism, and the importance of intellectual and philosophical background to the artists; they demonstrate that abstract art and primitive art, despite superficial resemblances, are completely divergent; and they deal with the common philosophy which pervades all great art, the nature of medieval art, folklore, and modern art, the beauty inherent in mathematics, and the union of traditional symbolism and individual portraiture in premodern cultures.

Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was a pioneer in Indian art history and in the cultural confrontation of East and West. Finding a universal tradition in past cultures ranging from the Hellenic and Christian to the Indian, Islamic and Chinese, Coomaraswamy collated his ideas and symbols of ancient wisdom into essays. THE DOOR IN THE SKY is a collection of his writings on myth drawn from his METAPHYSICS and TRADITIONAL ART AND SYMBOLISM. 256 pp. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Coomaraswamy on Myth and Meaning

The Door in the Sky

Vita di Buddha

In his foreword, Seyyed Hossein Nasr writes: "Over forty years have passed since the death of Ananda Coomaraswamy; yet his writings remain as pertinent today as when he wrote them, and his voice echoes in the ears of present-day seekers of truth and lovers of traditional art as it did a generation ago. In contrast to most scholarly works which become outdated and current philosophical opuses which become stale, Coomaraswamy's works possess a timeliness that flows from their being rooted in the eternal present. It is therefore with joy that one can welcome a new collection of essays of this formidable metaphysician and scholar."

What Is Civilization?

A highly original discussion of problems of philosophy of religion from the lndian point of view. The exposition shows that the Christian theologian who will take the trouble to study Indian religion seriously, and not merely “historically,” will find in its teachings abundant extrinsic and probable proofs of the truth of Christian doctrine; and may at the same time realize the essential unity of all religions.

Hinduism and Buddhism

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

The Arts & Crafts of India & Ceylon

The Transformation of Nature in Art

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was a pioneer in Indian art history and in the cultural confrontation of East and West. A scholar in the tradition of the great Indian grammarians and philosophers, an art historian convinced that the ultimate value of art transcends history, and a social thinker influenced by William Morris, Coomaraswamy was a unique figure whose works provide virtually a complete education in themselves. Finding a universal tradition in past cultures ranging from the Hellenic and Christian to the Indian, Islamic, and Chinese, he collated his ideas and symbols of ancient wisdom into the sometimes complex, always rewarding pattern of essays. The Door in the Sky is a collection of the author's writings on myth drawn from his Metaphysics and Traditional Art and Symbolism, both originally published in Bollingen Series. These essays were written while Coomaraswamy was curator in the department of Asiatic Art of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where he built the first large collection of Indian art in the United States.

“THE aim of this book is to set forth as simply as possible the Gospel of Buddhism according to the Buddhist scriptures, and to consider the Buddhist systems in relation, on the one hand, to the Brahmanical systems in which they originate, and, on the other hand, to those systems of Christian mysticism which afford the nearest analogies. At the same time the endeavour has been made to illustrate the part which Buddhist thought has played in the whole development of Asiatic culture, and to suggest a part of the significance it may still possess for modern thinkers. “The way of the Buddha is not, indeed, concerned directly with the order of the world, for it calls on higher men to leave the marketplace. But the order of the world can only be established on a foundation of knowledge: every evil is ultimately traceable to ignorance. It is necessary, then, to recognize the world for what it truly is. Gautama teaches us that the marks of this life are imperfection, transcience, and the absence of any changeless individuality. He sets before us a summum bonum closely akin to the Christian mystic conception of ‘self-naughting.’ Here are definite statements which must be either true or false, and a clearly defined goal which we must either accept or refuse. If the statements be false, and if the goal be worthless, it is of the highest importance that the former should be refuted and the latter discredited. But if the diagnosis be correct and the aim worthy, it is at least of equal importance that this should be generally recognized: for we cannot wish to perpetuate as the basis of our sociology a view of life that is demonstrably false or a purpose demonstrably contrary to our conception of the good. “This book is designed, therefore, not as an addition to our already overburdened libraries of information, but as a definite contribution to the philosophy of life.”—Ananada K. Coomaraswamy

Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism

Edward Conze

Philosophical Library

This curated collection of primary texts and secondary scholarship offers an engaging and comprehensive view of Buddhism and its founder. The Wisdom of Buddha: Drawn from the sacred books of Buddhism, this collection reveals the core insights and beliefs of the world’s fourth-largest religion. It covers the birth and death of the Buddha, as well as the major tenets of Buddhism, including karma and the middle doctrine. Hinduism and Buddhism: A highly original discussion of the origins and tenets of the great Eastern religions by a Sri Lankan theorist who introduced ancient Indian art to the West. Buddhist Texts Through the Ages: A comprehensive collection of Buddhist texts and scriptures translated from the original Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese. This edition also includes a glossary of English and foreign terms.

The Wisdom of Buddha, Hinduism and Buddhism, and Buddhist Texts Through the Ages

Buddhism

Sister Nivedita

In this book the author included and narrated some myths and stories from ancient Hindu and Buddhist literature. The book includes a good number of water colour illustrations which were created under the supervision of Abanindranath Tagore. Tagore himself drew some of the pictures in the book.

Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

Tiempo y eternidad son conceptos que todos conocemos: el primero como unidad de medida y el segundo asociado a lo imperecedero. Si pensamos más detenidamente veremos que el tiempo que parece ser medible está fuera de toda medida y que nada es imperecedero. Salvo el principio supremo que guía la vida nada es inconmensurable ni eterno. Coomaraswamy escribe sobre estos conceptos tal como aparecen tratados en el hinduismo, el budismo, el cristianismo, el islamismo y la cultura helénica.

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

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