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Buddhism as/in performance: analysis of meditation and theatrical practice

Buddhism as/in performance: analysis of meditation and theatrical practice
Short Title: Buddhism as/in performance
Format: Book
Publication Year: 1999
Publisher: D.K. Printworld
Place of Publication: New Delhi
Sources ID: 22119
Visibility: Private
Abstract: (Show)

Professor George has ventured into a comparatively unchartered area seeking, as he does, to explore the art and concept of performance in Buddhism -- more specially in the context of Buddhist meditation and theatre. Spelling out the epistemology of performance in all its different connotations and definitional nuances, his study opens out an astonishingly vast panorama of the Buddhist theatrical practices in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Nepal, Tibet . . . and goes on to demonstrate how, within this panorama, three kinds of theatrical practice can be identified, each corresponding to one of the three paths open to a Buddhist: the karma path, the Bodhisattva option, and enlightenment, and each representative of one of the three main cultures of Buddhism -- the Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana. Supported by extensive endnotes and bibliographic references, Dr. George's book also carries a range of case studies of the art of performance in Buddhism, with definitive examples, among others, of the Sri Lankan Kandy dance and Karma drama, Tibetan Chams and Chod, and Japanese Noh.

Subjects: 
Buddhist Contemplation by Applied Subject
Contexts of Contemplation Project
Buddhist Contemplation
Art and Buddhist Contemplation
Contemplation by Tradition