The sermon on the practice of loving-kindness : a translation by Jonathan Walters of the "Karaniyamettasutta"

Creator

Tetenbaum, Barbara

Date

• 1995

Publisher

Walla Walla, Washington: Whitman College Book Arts Press

Summary

• COLOPHON: "The Sermon on the Practice of Loving-Kindness was translated from the original Pali by Jonathan Walters. This poem, ascribed to the Buddha himself, encapsulates the ethical dictates of the Buddhist path. Studied and memorized, it was used as an aid in meditation practices aimed at inculcating the state of loving-kindness it champions. Chanted aloud in liturtical settings, it was believed capable of warding off harm from dangerous snakes, animals, people and supernatural forces. This limited edition book emulates the near-extinct Sri Lankan palm leaf manuscript (pus kola pota) format within which this ancient Buddhist poem was preserved for more than 2000 years. 45 copies were designed & hand-printed by Barbara Tetenbaum during a two-week residency in August, 1995 at the Whitman College Book Arts Lab, with assistance from Kathleen Gibson and Michael Busby. The text was set in roman and italic Bauer Bodoni and printed on Kitakata paper. This project was organized by Keiko Hara of the Art Department & Jonathan Walters of the Department of Religion, and funded through the President's Hewlett-Mellon Discretionary Fund. You hold copy number 1."
• Signed by the artist.
• The book is a series of narrow, stiff, stacked pages that have been printed on both sides. The strip pages are bound together by two cords that run centrally through all of the pages resembling a mini-blind. The front and back covers are paste papers.
• Barbara Tetenbaum is a UW-Madison alumna.