Burning for the Buddha Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism |
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| Author:
| Benn, James A. |
| Series title: | Kuroda Studies in East Asian Buddhism Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-8248-6789-8 |
| Publication Date: | Nov 2016 |
| Publisher: | University of Hawaii Press
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $20.00 |
Book Description:
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Burning for the Buddha is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. It examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context. Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on...
More Description Burning for the Buddha is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. It examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context. Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on the ways in which the heroic ideals of the bodhisattva present in scriptural materials such as the Lotus Sutra played out in the realm of religious practice on the ground.