Relics of the Buddha

Relics of the Buddha
Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Total Pages : 316
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780691188119
ISBN-13 : 0691188114
Rating : 4/5 (114 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Relics of the Buddha by : John S. Strong

Download or read book Relics of the Buddha written by John S. Strong and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How, then, to account for the long-standing veneration, in Asian Buddhist communities, of bone fragments, hair, teeth, and other bodily bits said to come from the historic Buddha? Early European and American scholars of religion, influenced by a characteristic Protestant bias against relic worship, declared such practices to be superstitious and fraudulent, and far from the true essence of Buddhism. John Strong's book, by contrast, argues that relic veneration has played a serious and integral role in Buddhist traditions in South and Southeast Asia-and that it is in no way foreign to Buddhism. The book is structured around the life story of the Buddha, starting with traditions about relics of previous buddhas and relics from the past lives of the Buddha Sakyamuni. It then considers the death of the Buddha, the collection of his bodily relics after his cremation, and stories of their spread to different parts of Asia. The book ends with a consideration of the legend of the future parinirvana (extinction) of the relics prior to the advent of the next Buddha, Maitreya. Throughout, the author does not hesitate to explore the many versions of these legends and to relate them to their ritual, doctrinal, artistic, and social contexts.


Relics of the Buddha Related Books

Relics of the Buddha
Language: en
Pages: 316
Authors: John S. Strong
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-06-05 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How, then, to account for the long-standing veneration, in Asian Buddhist communit
Jewel in the Ashes
Language: en
Pages: 535
Authors: Brian D. Ruppert
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-03-23 - Publisher: BRILL

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Focusing on the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, this study analyzes the ways in which relics functioned as material media for the interactions of Buddhist cl
The Buddha's Tooth
Language: en
Pages: 366
Authors: John S. Strong
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-10-22 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Part One: The Portuguese and the Tooth Relic -- Chapter One: The Tale of the Portuguese Tooth and Its Sources -- Chapter Two: Where the Tooth Was Found: Traditi
Relics, Ritual, and Representation in Buddhism
Language: en
Pages: 252
Authors: Kevin Trainor
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 1997-06-13 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is a serious study of relic veneration among South Asian Buddhists. Drawing on textual sources and archaeological evidence from India and Sri Lanka, i
Embodying the Dharma
Language: en
Pages: 213
Authors: David Germano
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-02-01 - Publisher: State University of New York Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Embodying the Dharma explores the centrality of relic veneration in Asian Buddhist cultures. Long disregarded by Western scholars as a superstitious practice re