Courtesans and tantric consorts : sexualities in Buddhist narrative, iconography and ritual / Serinity Young.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Young, Serinity.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gautama Buddha.

Gautama Buddha--Relations with women.

Women in the Tripiṭaka.

Women in Buddhism--India.

Women in Buddhism.

Buddhist art and symbolism.

Relations with women.

India.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 256 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Sexualities in Buddhist narrative, iconography and ritual

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2004.

Summary:

The wisest teachings of Buddhism say that one must move beyond gender. But, as Serinity Young shows in this enlightening work, the rhetoric of Buddhist texts, the symbolism of its iconography, and the performative import of its rituals, all tell different, and often contradictory, stories. In "Courtesans and Tantric Consorts," Serinity Young takes the reader on a journey through more than 2000 years of biographical writings, iconographic depictions, and ritual practices revealing the colorful mosaic of beliefs that inform Buddhist views about gender and sexuality.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-248) and index.

ISBN:

0415914825

0415914833

OCLC:

53223583