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

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Sasson, Vanessa R., editor.

Scheible, Kristin, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gautama Buddha.

Buddhism--Origin.

Buddhism.

Buddhism--History.

Buddhism--Doctrines.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

xx, 253 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

"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.

Contents:

Preface. Learning from John Strong : many ways of reading the many life stories of the Buddha / Charles Hallisey

Introduction. The never-ending story / Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible

The vow that starts the story / Andy Rotman

Creative tensions in the past lives of the Buddha / Naomi Appleton

The final birth / Reiko Ohnuma

A timeless love story / Vanessa R. Sasson

A great departure / Kristin Scheible

Around the tree of awakening / Todd Lewis & Jinah Kim

The Buddha's career : teachings and miracles / David Fiordalis

Sorrow and its ending in the Buddha's last days / Maria Heim

The Buddha's story continues : afterlives of the relics / Stephen C. Berkwitz

Overstory : first there is a Buddha, then there is No Buddha, then there is / John S. Strong

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Buddha

ISBN:

9780197649473

0197649475

9780197649466

0197649467

OCLC:

1385293140