The legend and cult of Upagupta : Sanskrit Buddhism in North India and Southeast Asia / John S. Strong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Strong, John, 1948- author.

Series:

Princeton legacy library.

Princeton Legacy Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Upagupta.

Buddhism--Southeast Asia--History.

Buddhism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (409 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2017.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The Buddhist monk Upagupta, who preached and taught meditative practices in Northwest India over two thousand years ago, is venerated today by the laity in parts of Burma, Thailand, and Laos as a protective figure endowed with magical powers. In this monumental work John Strong offers a systematic presentation of the Indian and Southeast Asian legends and rituals surrounding this popular saint. Once considered by Buddhist authorities as only marginally important, Upagupta emerges here as a central, ubiquitous figure within the Buddhist world. The author demonstrates the remarkable continuity among traditions focused on Upagupta in ancient Sarvastivadin Sanskrit materials, key Pali texts, medieval Thai and Burmese texts, and contemporary oral traditions and religious rituals in Southeast Asia. In so doing he reflects the orientation of popular Sanskrit Hinayana Buddhism, which allows for new perspectives on such classic questions as the nature of enlightenment, the role of asceticism, the problem of evil, the worship of the Buddha image, the veneration of saints, master-disciple relationships, the treatment of heterodoxy, and the relation of myth and ritual.Originally published in 1992.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures and Tables

Preface

Note and Abbreviations

Introduction

PART ONE. Upagupta in India

CHAPTER ONE. Provisions for the Buddha's Absence

CHAPTER TWO. Monk and Monkey: Upagupta's Karmic Past

CHAPTER THREE. Birth and Lineage, Patriarchs, and the Forest-Monk Tradition

CHAPTER FOUR. Lay Life, Ordination, and Arhatship

CHAPTER FIVE. Upagupta and Mara: Bhakti and the Buddha Body

CHAPTER SIX. Master-Disciple Relations

CHAPTER SEVEN. Upagupta and Ásoka

PART TWO. Upagupta in Southeast Asia

CHAPTER EIGHT. The Southeast Asian Context: Upagupta and Theravada Orthodoxy

CHAPTER NINE. The Lokapaññatti Legend

CHAPTER TEN. Mythic Elaborations and Ritual Developments

CHAPTER ELEVEN. Upagupta and the Arhat Cults

CHAPTER TWELVE. Communal Cults: Upagupta as Protector of Festivals

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Personal Rewards and Domestic Rites

Conspectus and Conclusion

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography of Works Cited

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-376) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691654133

0691654131

9780691603919

069160391X

OCLC:

1132221390