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Jewels, Jewelry, and Other Shiny Things in the Buddhist Imaginary (Paperback)
Loot Price: R736
Discovery Miles 7 360
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Jewels, Jewelry, and Other Shiny Things in the Buddhist Imaginary (Paperback)
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Renunciation is a core value in the Buddhist tradition, but
Buddhism is not necessarily austere. Jewels—along with heavenly
flowers, rays of rainbow light, and dazzling deities—shape the
literature and the material reality of the tradition. They decorate
temples, fill reliquaries, are used as metaphors, and sprout out of
imagined Buddha fields. Moreover, jewels reflect a particular type
of currency often used to make the Buddhist world go round: merit
in exchange for wealth. Regardless of whether the Buddhist
community has theoretically transcended the need for them or not,
jewels—and the paradox they represent—are everywhere.
Scholarship has often looked past this splendor, favoring the
theory of renunciation instead, but in this volume, scholars from a
wide range of disciplines consider the role jewels play in the
Buddhist imaginary, putting them front and center for the first
time. Following an introduction that relates the colorful story of
the Emerald Buddha, one of the most famous jewels in the world,
chapters explore the function of jewels as personal identifiers in
Buddhist and other Indian religious traditions; Buddhaghosa’s
commentary on the Jewel Sutta; the paradox of the Buddha’s
bejeweled status before and after renunciation; and the connection
in early Buddhism between jewels, magnificence, and virtue. The
Newars of Nepal are the focus of a chapter that looks at their
gemology and associations between gems and celestial deities.
Contributors analyze the Fifth Dalai Lama’s reliquary, known as
the "sole ornament of the world"; the transformation of relic
jewels into precious substances and their connection to the
Piprahwa stupa in Northern India and the Nanjing Porcelain Pagoda.
Final chapters offer detailed studies of ritual engagement with the
deity known as Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Avalokiteśvara and its role
in the new Japanese lay Buddhist religious movement Shinnyo-en.
Engaging and accessible, Jewels, Jewelry, and Other Shiny Things in
the Buddhist Imaginary will provide readers with an opportunity to
look beyond a common misconception about Buddhism and bring its
lived tradition into wider discussion.
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