Description
In the Deer Park at Isipatana, The Buddha Preaches His First Sermon (detail), from a Burmese manuscript, c. 1790s1830s "The Buddha's first sermon contained the fundamental principles of his teaching expressed as the Four Noble Truths: life is full of suffering; the cause of suffering is desire; cessation of desire ends suffering; and the way to end suffering is to follow the noble Eightfold Path. . . ." This image comes from one of two magnificent Burmese manuscripts once owned by the diplomat and Orientalist Henry Burney, British Resident of the Court of Ava from 1830 to 1837. Among the most prized items in the British Library's collections, the concertina-fold manuscripts (parabaiks) are surveyed and their story told in Patricia M. Herbert's Life of the Buddha (Pomegranate, in association with the British Library, 2005). - INDIVIDUAL ITEM RRP £1.99
