The Buddhist Visnu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture - Couverture rigide

Holt, John

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0231133227 ISBN 13 : 9780231133227

Editeur : Columbia University Press, 2004

Synopsis

John Holt's groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Visnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. Holt argues that political agendas and social forces, as much as doctrinal concerns, have shaped the shifting patterns of the veneration of Visnu in Sri Lanka.

Holt begins with a comparative look at the assimilation of the Buddha in Hinduism. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. Offering analyses of texts, many of which have never before been translated into English, Holt considers the development of Visnu in Buddhist literature and the changing practices of deity veneration. Shifting to the present, Holt describes the efforts of contemporary Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka to discourage the veneration of Visnu, suggesting that many are motivated by a reactionary fear that their culture and society will soon be overrun by the influences and practices of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

John C. Holt is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of the Humanities in Religion and Asian Studies at Bowdoin College. He is the author of several books, including Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Tradition of Sri Lanka, winner of an American Academy of Religion Book Award for Excellence, and The Religious World of Kirti Sri: Buddhism, Art and Politics in Late Medieval Sri Lanka, and is the editor of Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Columbia University Press
• Date d'édition: 2004
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0231133227
• ISBN 13: 9780231133227
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 448
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible