The Buddha
A Storied Life
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ISBN:
9780197783849
Publication date:
06/03/2024
Paperback
264 pages
We sell our titles through other companies
Disclaimer :You will be redirected to a third party website.The sole responsibility of supplies, condition of the product, availability of stock, date of delivery, mode of payment will be as promised by the said third party only. Prices and specifications may vary from the OUP India site.
ISBN:
9780197783849
Publication date:
06/03/2024
Paperback
264 pages
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
In this book, twelve leading scholars of South Asian texts and traditions articulate the Buddha-life blueprint—the underlying and foundational pattern that holds the life story of a buddha together.
Rights: SOUTH ASIA RIGHTS (RESTRICTED)
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
Description
Retellings of the Buddha's life story have animated and sustained Buddhist thought and practice through some 2,500 years of history. To this day, Buddhist holidays and rituals are pinned to the arc of his biography, celebrating his birth, awakening, teaching, and final nirvana. His story is the model that exemplary Buddhists follow. Often, there is a moment of insight akin to the Buddha's experience with the Four Sights, followed by a great departure from home, and a period of searching that it is hoped will lead to final awakening. The Buddha's story is not just the Buddha's story; it is the story of Buddhism.
In this book, twelve leading scholars of South Asian texts and traditions articulate the Buddha-life blueprint—the underlying and foundational pattern that holds the life story of a buddha together. They retell the episodes of Buddha Gautama's extended life story, while keeping in mind the cosmic, paradigmatic arc of his narrative. The contributors have dedicated their careers to exploring hagiographical materials, each applying their own methodological and theoretical interests to shed new light on the enduring story of Buddhism. Using multiple perspectives, voices, and sources, this volume underscores the multivalent centrality of this story. The book will be an invaluable resource to practicing Buddhists and students of Buddhist Studies to help them engage in the most foundational story of the tradition.
About the authors: Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies at Marianopolis College, Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, and Research Member of Centre d'études et de recherches sur l'Inde, l'Asie du Sud et sa diaspora at Université du Québec à Montreal. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including Yasodhara and the Buddha (2021) and The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Nuns (2023). Kristin Scheible is Professor of Religion and Humanities at Reed College. She is the author of Reading the Mahavamsa: The Literary Aims of a Theravada Buddhist History (2016)
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
Table of contents
About the Contributors
Preface: Learning from John Strong—Multiple Ways of Reading the Many Life Stories of the Buddha
Charles Hallisey
Introduction: The Never-Ending Story
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
1. The Vow That Starts the Story
Andy Rotman
2. Creative Tensions in the Past Lives of the Buddha
Naomi Appleton
3. The Final Birth
Reiko Ohnuma
4. A Timeless Love Story
Vanessa R. Sasson
5. A Great Departure
Kristin Scheible
6. Around the Tree of Awakening
Todd Lewis and Jinah Kim
7. The Buddha's Teachings and Miracles
David Fiordalis
8. Sorrow and its Ending in the Buddha's Last Days
Maria Heim
9. The Buddha's Story Continues: Afterlives of the Relics
Stephen C. Berkwitz
10. Overstory: First There is a Buddha, Then There is No Buddha, Then There is
John S. Strong
Bibliography
Index
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
Description
Retellings of the Buddha's life story have animated and sustained Buddhist thought and practice through some 2,500 years of history. To this day, Buddhist holidays and rituals are pinned to the arc of his biography, celebrating his birth, awakening, teaching, and final nirvana. His story is the model that exemplary Buddhists follow. Often, there is a moment of insight akin to the Buddha's experience with the Four Sights, followed by a great departure from home, and a period of searching that it is hoped will lead to final awakening. The Buddha's story is not just the Buddha's story; it is the story of Buddhism.
In this book, twelve leading scholars of South Asian texts and traditions articulate the Buddha-life blueprint—the underlying and foundational pattern that holds the life story of a buddha together. They retell the episodes of Buddha Gautama's extended life story, while keeping in mind the cosmic, paradigmatic arc of his narrative. The contributors have dedicated their careers to exploring hagiographical materials, each applying their own methodological and theoretical interests to shed new light on the enduring story of Buddhism. Using multiple perspectives, voices, and sources, this volume underscores the multivalent centrality of this story. The book will be an invaluable resource to practicing Buddhists and students of Buddhist Studies to help them engage in the most foundational story of the tradition.
About the authors: Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies at Marianopolis College, Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, and Research Member of Centre d'études et de recherches sur l'Inde, l'Asie du Sud et sa diaspora at Université du Québec à Montreal. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including Yasodhara and the Buddha (2021) and The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Nuns (2023). Kristin Scheible is Professor of Religion and Humanities at Reed College. She is the author of Reading the Mahavamsa: The Literary Aims of a Theravada Buddhist History (2016)
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Table of contents
About the Contributors
Preface: Learning from John Strong—Multiple Ways of Reading the Many Life Stories of the Buddha
Charles Hallisey
Introduction: The Never-Ending Story
Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible
1. The Vow That Starts the Story
Andy Rotman
2. Creative Tensions in the Past Lives of the Buddha
Naomi Appleton
3. The Final Birth
Reiko Ohnuma
4. A Timeless Love Story
Vanessa R. Sasson
5. A Great Departure
Kristin Scheible
6. Around the Tree of Awakening
Todd Lewis and Jinah Kim
7. The Buddha's Teachings and Miracles
David Fiordalis
8. Sorrow and its Ending in the Buddha's Last Days
Maria Heim
9. The Buddha's Story Continues: Afterlives of the Relics
Stephen C. Berkwitz
10. Overstory: First There is a Buddha, Then There is No Buddha, Then There is
John S. Strong
Bibliography
Index
