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Bringing together fifteen essays by outstanding Buddhist scholars from Asia, Europe, and North America, this book offers a distinctive portrayal of the "life of Buddhism." The contributors focus on a number of religious practices across the Buddhist world, from Sri Lanka to New York, Japan to Tibet. The essays highlight not so much Buddhist doctrine or sacred texts, but rather the actual behavior and lived experience of Buddhist adherents.
A general introduction by Frank E. Reynolds and Jason A. Carbine provides a historical overview and briefly characterizes the three major variants of Buddhist tradition—the Hinayana/Theravada branch practiced in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia; the Mahayana branch located most notably in East Asia; and the Vajrayana/Esoteric branch established in Tibet and Japan. It also takes note of a distinctive form of Buddhism that is now emerging among non-Asian practitioners in the West. The editors introduce each essay with a brief commentary that situates its contents within the Buddhist tradition as a whole.
The pieces offer concise depictions and analyses of particular aspects of Buddhist life, including temple architecture and iconography, the consecration of sacred objects, meditative practices, devotional expressions, exorcisms, and pilgrimage journeys. Topics discussed also include the construction of religio-political and religio-social hierarchies, gender roles, the management of asocial behavior, and confrontations with dying and death.
A general introduction by Frank E. Reynolds and Jason A. Carbine provides a historical overview and briefly characterizes the three major variants of Buddhist tradition—the Hinayana/Theravada branch practiced in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia; the Mahayana branch located most notably in East Asia; and the Vajrayana/Esoteric branch established in Tibet and Japan. It also takes note of a distinctive form of Buddhism that is now emerging among non-Asian practitioners in the West. The editors introduce each essay with a brief commentary that situates its contents within the Buddhist tradition as a whole.
The pieces offer concise depictions and analyses of particular aspects of Buddhist life, including temple architecture and iconography, the consecration of sacred objects, meditative practices, devotional expressions, exorcisms, and pilgrimage journeys. Topics discussed also include the construction of religio-political and religio-social hierarchies, gender roles, the management of asocial behavior, and confrontations with dying and death.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 240
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
02 December 2000
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520223370
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
Frank E. Reynolds is Professor of Buddhist Studies and History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His many edited books include Myth and Philosophy (1990) and Religion and Practical Reason (1994). Jason A. Carbine specializes in Buddhist Studies within the History of Religions Program at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
NOTE TO THE READER
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
PART 1: TEMPLES, SACRED OBJECTS, AND ASSOCIATED RITUALS
Chapter 1
Temples and Monastic Complexes (Japan)
“A View of Temple Life and Practice,”
James Bissett Pratt
Chapter 2
Image Consecrations (Thailand)
“Creating and Disseminating the Sacred,”
Donald K. Swearer
Chapter 3
State Rituals and Ceremonies (Myanma)
“A Tooth Relic and the Legitimation of Power,”
Juliane Schober
Chapter 4
Village Rituals and Ceremonies (Thailand)
“Bun Phraawes,” S. J. Tambiah
PART II: MONASTIC PRACTICES
Chapter 5
The Ordination of Monks and Novices (Korea)
“Ordination in the Chogye Order,”
Robert E. Buswell
Chapter 6
Female Renunciants (Myanma[r]/Burma)
“Theravadin Religious Women,” Hiroko Kawanami
Chapter 7
Meditation (Japan)
“A Morning Star Meditation,” Taiko Yamasaki
Chapter 8
The Monastic Quest: A Biographical
Example (Tibet)
“The Biography of a Nun,” Hanna Havnevik
Chapter 9
Monastic Funerals (Thailand)
“The Cremation of a Senior Monk,”
Charles F. Keyes
PART III: LAY PRACTICE
Chapter 10
Lay Identity and Participation (China)
“Lay Praxis in a Mahayana Context,”
Holmes Welch
Chapter 11
Cosmology and Law (Tibet)
“Buddhist Secular Law: Doctrines in Context,”
Rebecca Redwood French
Chapter 12
Cosmology and Healing (Sri Lanka)
“Yaktovil: The Role of the Buddha and
Dhamma,” Jason A. Carbine
Chapter 13
Devotional Rituals: Recent Innovations (Sri Lanka)
“A New Theravadin Liturgy,” Richard Gombrich
Chapter 14
Death and Beyond (Japan)
“Memorializing One’s Mizuko,”
William R. LaFleur
PART IV: BUDDHISM IN THE WEST
Chapter 15
An American Example
“Transmitting the Dharma,” Philip Kapleau
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
PART 1: TEMPLES, SACRED OBJECTS, AND ASSOCIATED RITUALS
Chapter 1
Temples and Monastic Complexes (Japan)
“A View of Temple Life and Practice,”
James Bissett Pratt
Chapter 2
Image Consecrations (Thailand)
“Creating and Disseminating the Sacred,”
Donald K. Swearer
Chapter 3
State Rituals and Ceremonies (Myanma)
“A Tooth Relic and the Legitimation of Power,”
Juliane Schober
Chapter 4
Village Rituals and Ceremonies (Thailand)
“Bun Phraawes,” S. J. Tambiah
PART II: MONASTIC PRACTICES
Chapter 5
The Ordination of Monks and Novices (Korea)
“Ordination in the Chogye Order,”
Robert E. Buswell
Chapter 6
Female Renunciants (Myanma[r]/Burma)
“Theravadin Religious Women,” Hiroko Kawanami
Chapter 7
Meditation (Japan)
“A Morning Star Meditation,” Taiko Yamasaki
Chapter 8
The Monastic Quest: A Biographical
Example (Tibet)
“The Biography of a Nun,” Hanna Havnevik
Chapter 9
Monastic Funerals (Thailand)
“The Cremation of a Senior Monk,”
Charles F. Keyes
PART III: LAY PRACTICE
Chapter 10
Lay Identity and Participation (China)
“Lay Praxis in a Mahayana Context,”
Holmes Welch
Chapter 11
Cosmology and Law (Tibet)
“Buddhist Secular Law: Doctrines in Context,”
Rebecca Redwood French
Chapter 12
Cosmology and Healing (Sri Lanka)
“Yaktovil: The Role of the Buddha and
Dhamma,” Jason A. Carbine
Chapter 13
Devotional Rituals: Recent Innovations (Sri Lanka)
“A New Theravadin Liturgy,” Richard Gombrich
Chapter 14
Death and Beyond (Japan)
“Memorializing One’s Mizuko,”
William R. LaFleur
PART IV: BUDDHISM IN THE WEST
Chapter 15
An American Example
“Transmitting the Dharma,” Philip Kapleau
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX