Figure of Shiva

In the Norton Simon Museum of suburban Los Angeles, which is lesser known than the famous Getty but nevertheless an important fine-arts museum of Southern California in the U.S., is contained what appears to be a strong exemplar of Hindu symbolism and myth. There, in a section designed for the purpose of displaying Asian art (though in somewhat of a hodgepodge) is contained a tenth-century bronze of medium size (approximately 75 cm high), which depicts Shiva as the Lord of the Dance. The tenth century is designated by the museum as the Chola Period of Indian history. Now what is important about this piece is that it seems to be the most comprehensive representation of Hindu belief about the creative/destructive principle of the universe. That is, Shiva (also Siva) as the Lord of the Dance is meant to represent Shiva as the lord of the dance of both life and death, or more generally as lord of the cosmos itself.

Every position of every feature of Shiva's body has a cosmic significance, which is implicit partly in the fact

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ind of explanation of the content of Buddhist sensibility. But as a matter of fact, the content of Buddhism is elusive precisely for the reason that it is elaborated in a wide variety of regional and doctrinal systems. That is, while it is true that certain patterns of ideas are to be seen uniformly throughout Buddhism, it is also true that sectarian Buddhism shows a variety of belief systems. However, it may be useful to note what is shared by all strands of Buddhist thought, specifically the Four Noble Truths, which refer to the nature of man in the cosmos. They are as follows: 1) Sorrow (suffering) is the basic fact of all life at all times of life; 2) The cause of all suffering/sorrow is craving, desire, or grasping; 3) Suffering can only be stopped if grasping and/or craving is stopped; 4) The third truth can be accomplished only by careful conduct (Abe 75). An important key to the Four Noble Truths is that they have a significance that is cosmically elusive, yet always a goal. Buddhism, which began in India but spread in different doctrinal configurations to China, Japan, and South Asia, is first and always religious and transcendent. The aim of life is to finally and completely transcend the body (reality, existence). Unti
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Ganges River, According Zimmer, Hindu Shiva, Shinto Shinto, Museum Art, Lord Dance, European Crusaders, South Asia, Noble Truths, Hinduism Buddhism, lord dance, shinto art, human experience, interior left, left hand, de bary keene, sources japanese, facial features, tradition 2, japanese tradition, 2 vols, bary keene york, york columbia 1958, tsunoda william de, william de bary,
Approximate Word count = 2433
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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