0
Your cart

Your cart is empty

Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism

Buy Now

Living Images - Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context (Hardcover, Revised and Upd) Loot Price: R1,541
Discovery Miles 15 410
You Save: R114 (7%)
Living Images - Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context (Hardcover, Revised and Upd): Robert H. Sharf, Elizabeth Horton Sharf

Living Images - Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context (Hardcover, Revised and Upd)

Robert H. Sharf, Elizabeth Horton Sharf

Series: Asian Religions and Cultures

 (sign in to rate)
List price R1,655 Loot Price R1,541 Discovery Miles 15 410 | Repayment Terms: R144 pm x 12* You Save R114 (7%)

Bookmark and Share

Expected to ship within 12 - 19 working days

Buddhist images are ubiquitous in Japan, yet they are rarely accorded much attention in studies of Buddhist monastic traditions. Scholars of religion tend to regard Buddhist images as mere symbols or representations of religious ideals, commemorations of saints and patriarchs, ancillary aids to meditative practice, or the focus of lay piety. Art historians approach these images as works of art suitable for stylistic and iconographic analysis. Yet neither of these groups of scholars has adequately appreciated the centrality and significance of images and image worship in Japanese monastic practice.
The essays in this volume focus on the historical, institutional, and ritual context of a number of Japanese Buddhist paintings, sculptures, calligraphies, and relics--some celebrated, others long overlooked. Robert H. Sharf's introduction examines the reasons for the marginalization of images by modern Buddhist apologists and Western scholars alike, tackling the thorny question of whether Buddhists were in fact idolators.
The essays by Paul Groner and Karen Brock document and explicate the crucial role that sacred images played in the lives of two eminent medieval clerics, Eison and Myoe. James Dobbins looks at Shin representations of Shinran, founder of the Shin school of Pure Land Buddhism, and finds that early Shin piety was centered as much on Shinran and his images as on the Buddha Amida himself. Robert H. Sharf's essay on the use of Tantric mandalas reveals that, contrary to received opinion, such mandalas were not used as aids to ritual visualization but rather as vivified entities whose presence ensured the efficacy of the rite.
In each case, the authors find that the images were treated, by elite monks and unlettered laypersons alike, as living presences with considerable apotropaic and salvific power, and that Japanese Buddhist monastic life was centered around the management and veneration of these numinous beings.

General

Imprint: Stanford University Press
Country of origin: United States
Series: Asian Religions and Cultures
Release date: 2002
First published: 2001
Editors: Robert H. Sharf • Elizabeth Horton Sharf
Dimensions: 235 x 155 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format: Hardcover - Cloth / Cloth
Pages: 288
Edition: Revised and Upd
ISBN-13: 978-0-8047-3989-4
Categories: Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General
Promotions
LSN: 0-8047-3989-7
Barcode: 9780804739894

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!

You might also like..

Big Panda And Tiny Dragon
James Norbury Hardcover  (1)
R505 R466 Discovery Miles 4 660
The Book Of Joy - Lasting Happiness In A…
Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu Hardcover  (11)
R409 Discovery Miles 4 090
Voice for the Voiceless - Over Seven…
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Paperback R419 Discovery Miles 4 190
The Cat Who Taught Zen
James Norbury Hardcover R505 R450 Discovery Miles 4 500
When Things Don’t Go Your Way - Zen…
Haemin Sunim Hardcover R380 R339 Discovery Miles 3 390
Virtual Orientalism - Asian Religions…
Jane Iwamura Hardcover R2,936 Discovery Miles 29 360
Envisioning a Tibetan Luminary - The…
William M Gorvine Hardcover R2,562 Discovery Miles 25 620
When Things Don’t Go Your Way
Haemin Sunim Paperback R295 R263 Discovery Miles 2 630
Siddhartha - The Classic Novel
Hermann Hesse Paperback R263 R243 Discovery Miles 2 430
Eyes of Compassion - Living with Thich…
Jim Forest Paperback R473 R437 Discovery Miles 4 370
Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings…
Martin Haug Paperback R528 Discovery Miles 5 280
The Romantic Legend of Sakya Buddha…
Samuel Beal Paperback R675 Discovery Miles 6 750

See more

Partners