Buddha in the Crown : Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka.
Title:
Buddha in the Crown : Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka.
Author:
Holt, John Clifford.
ISBN:
9780195362466
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (306 pages)
Contents:
Contents -- Preface -- 1 Introduction: The Setting and the Problem -- 2 The Relevant Historical and Doctrinal Background -- 3 Ascetic and King: The Iconography of Avalokiteśvara and Nātha -- 4 The Politics of Deification in Medieval Sri Lanka: Avalokiteśvara Becomes Nātha Deviyo -- 5 The Mythicization of History: Nātha and Pitiye in Kandyan Folklore -- 6 The Power of Place: Oral Traditions at Rural Kandyan Nātha Devālayas -- 7 Central Power, Sacred Order: Center and Periphery in the Kandyan Kingdom -- 8 Nātha and the "Rock Chief" -- 9 Conclusion: Maitreya-in-the-Making -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.
Abstract:
Historical, anthropological, and philosophical in approach, Buddha in the Crown is a case study in religious and cultural change. It examines the various ways in which Avalokitesvara, the most well known and proliferated bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism throughout south, southeast, and eastAsia, was assimilated into the transforming religious culture of Sri Lanka, one of the most pluralistic in Asia. Exploring the expressions of the bodhisattva's cult in Sanskrit and Sinhala literature, in iconography, epigraphy, ritual, symbol, and myth, the author develops a provocative thesisregarding the dynamics of religious change. Interdisciplinary in scope, addressing a wide variety of issues relating to Buddhist thought and practice, and providing new and original information on the rich cultural history of Sri Lanka, this book will interest students of Buddhism and SouthAsia.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
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