Authoritative commentaries on 187 Indonesian bronzes, ranging from devotional icons, to jewelry, to items created for domestic use. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

This thesis introduces Tadao Ando, a well-known Japanese architect, who is currently working on an emerging concept in the discourse of architecture, and is opening an approach of high sensibility (sensual, reflective, flexible, and complex, sensitively matching with every moment of life) and conceptualism (rational, logically approaching truth) that is widely considered one of the most important ways of thinking and designing architecture.In the introduction chapter, Tadao Ando's is introduced as a master of architecture and as a critic. Secondly, his goals, objectives, concepts and strategies are outlined. These aspects are grouped and developed into major themes. Those themes will later be interpreted in Chapter Four.In the second chapter of the thesis, the architecture of Tadao Ando is examined more closely, through critics' studies and his writings. This part aims to open further discussions on the most substantial and important grounds and sources of his architecture, which are interpreted in further detail in Chapter Four: the key themes of his works and theories.Being aware that Ando's architecture cannot be understood without grasping "Japaneseness", or the historical cultural and regional contexts of Japan, the third chapter will be devoted to briefly introducing the origins, philosophy, traditions, and culture of the country, as well as major points of new waves of Japanese architecture, both of which tangibly and intangibly serve as the foundation for Ando's architectural themes: nature, shintai, and geometry as both abstract construct and substance. This chapter is essential for understanding the foundation and context of Ando's thoughts that always determine his architecture.Chapter Four is the key part of the thesis. It focuses on two aspects: Ando's philosophically-based theoretical concepts, and his major themes which have been introduced in the previous sections. This chapter provides a general and coherent understanding of his work.The concluding chapter summarizes the crucial points from among Ando's visions, moving from origins and philosophical grounds through concepts, strategies and theories, to the unique solutions which he advances for problems of the age. Thematically, Tadao Ando's works may be shown to reveal: Dialogue with Nature and Tradition (cosmologies, culture); Shintai and Space (mutual independence and penetration); and Geometry (spatial compositions, minimalist form, material and texture). Among these three over riding themes, there are many interrelated sub-themes are also examined. Download 1st chapter & ByteSizeSystems Reader FREE - and buy ByteSize b-book for $5.00.

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Commemoration volume for Kalidas Bhattacharya, 1911-1984, Indian philosopher; comprises articles on Indian philosophy.

Since the dawn of Philosophy, our ancient seers were into the deep inquiry of the three realities the Brahman, the sentient beings, and insentient objects. The theological system of Sri Rāmānuja’s philosophy, known as Viśiṣṭādvaita, analogous to the Pan-en-theism of Western concept is a school-based on Vedanta which assigns different stages to the Divine body of the God where God is “FAR” from us yet He is very NEAR. His paratva (superiority) is as glorious as His soulabhya (accessibility). He is part of this world and all the rest form His body and He is inseparably intertwined with the rest of the universe. This unique concept is the fulcrum on which the entire Viśiṣṭādvaita revolves.

Protestant theology and culture are known for a reserved, at times skeptical, attitude to the use of art and aesthetic forms of expression in a religious context. In Transcendence and Sensoriness, this attitude is analysed and discussed both theoretically and through case studies considered in a broad theological and philosophical framework of religious aesthetics. Nordic scholars of theology, philosophy, art, music, and architecture, discuss questions of transcendence, the human senses, and the arts in order to challenge established perspectives within the aesthetics of religion and theology.

The first two parts of this book present four detailed historical studies, filled with Geertzian "thick description," of the encounters of Christianity and Buddhism (universal religions with a high quotient of "transcendence") with various primal religious traditions ("biocosmic" or "immanentist") of the Asian-Pacific region, namely, Aboriginal Australia and Melanesia (Christianity) and Sri Lanka and Japan (Buddhism). In each case, the encounters represented a failure of the "great" traditions. In the third, constructive and theological part of the book, the author shows how an acknowledgment of these failures may provide a back door to dialogue.

Drawing on medieval Chinese poetry, fiction, and religious scriptures, this book illuminates the greatest goddess of Taoism and her place in Chinese society.

The Lotus Sutra proclaims that a unitary intent underlies the diversity of Buddhist teachings and promises that all people without exception can achieve supreme awakening. Establishing the definitive guide to this profound text, specialists in Buddhist philosophy, art, and history of religion address the major ideas and controversies surrounding the Lotus Sutra and its manifestations in ritual performance, ascetic practice, visual representations, and social action across history. Essays survey the Indian context in which the sutra was produced, its compilation and translation history, and its influence across China and Japan, among many other issues. The volume also includes a Chinese and Japanese character glossary, notes on Western translations of the text, and a synoptic bibliography.