Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism

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About the Book:

This book gives an account of the life of the Buddha and an exposition of the religion and philosophy the Buddha propounded. This also analyzes the origins of Buddhist thought and traces its development from Hindu philosophical systems. Developments in Buddhist thought since the death of the Buddha are also dealt with as are Buddhist literature, sculpture and painting, both in India and in other pars of the world to which Buddhism spread.

"The aim of this," says the author, "is to set forth as simple 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 fro modern thinkers."

Dr. Coomaraswamy has succeeded in achieving this objective as only he could. With his genius for lucid exposition and with a beauty of style and exposition characteristically his own, he has succeeded in presenting some of the most complex concepts of Indian philosophy in terms which make them understandable even to the layman.

About the Author:

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, the greatest among the Indian art-historians, was born in Colombo on August 22, 1877. After graduating from the University of London he became the Director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon. Between 1906 and 1917, when he joined as the Curator of Indian Art in the Boston Museum he was busy lecturing on Indian art and formed societies for the study of India art. In 1938, he became the Chairman of National Committee for India's Freedom. His contributions on Indian philosophy, religion, are and iconography, painting and literature are of the greatest importance as were his contributions on music, science and Islamic art. He died on September 9, 1947.

Part I: THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA

Part II: THE GOSPEL OF EARLY BUDDHISM

1. Dhamma
2. Samsara and Kamma
3. Buddhist Heavens and How to Reach Them
4. Nibbana
5. Ethics
6. Conscience
7. Spiritual Exercises
8. Consolation
9. The Order
10. Tolerance
11. Women
12. Early Buddhism and Nature
13. Buddhist Pessimism
14. A Buddhist Emperor

Part III: CONTEMPORARY SYSTEMS

1. The Vedanta
2. Samkhya
3. Yoga
4. Buddhism and Brahmanism

Part IV: THE MAHAYANA

1. Beginnings of the Mahayana
2. System of the Mahayana
3. Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism

Part V: BUDDHIST ART

1. Literature
2. Sculpture and Painting

Bibliography
Glossary
Index