ECU Libraries Catalog

The Buddha : a storied life / edited by Vanessa R. Sasson & Kristin Scheible.

Other author/creatorSasson, Vanessa R., editor.
Other author/creatorScheible, Kristin, editor.
Format Tactile Material, Book, and Print
Publication Info New York : Oxford University Press, 2023.
Descriptionxx, 253 pages : illustrations (black and white), chart, photographs ; 24 cm
Subject(s)
Contents 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 & 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.
Abstract "Retellings of the Buddha's lifestory have animated and sustained Buddhist thought and practice through roughly 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. Buddhists embody the story when they meditate, and when novices shear their hair, don robes, and ask permission to leave home. His story is the model for hagiographies of exemplary Buddhists to follow, from experiencing a moment of insight akin to the Four Sights, to the experience of tearing themselves away from their families to make a great departure, to a period of searching, to the moment when awakening is finally accomplished. The Buddha's story is therefore not just the Buddha's story; it is the story upon which the tradition rests. In this volume, we articulate the Buddha Blueprint, the underlying and foundational pattern that holds the lifestory of a buddha together. We retell the episodes of Buddha Gautama's extended lifestory, keeping in mind the cosmic arc of his narrative. The contributors are all prominent scholars of South Asian texts and traditions who 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. Our book, using multiple perspectives, voices and sources, underscores the multivalent centrality of this story"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Buddha New York : Oxford University Press, 2023 9780197649497
Genre/formHistory.
LCCN 2023032614
ISBN9780197649473
ISBN0197649475
ISBN9780197649466 (hardback)
ISBN0197649467
ISBN(epub)

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