Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia
ISBN: 9780824864217
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of Hawai''i Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Buddhist saints -- Biography -- History and criticism; Gautama Buddha; Buddhist hagiography -- History and criticism;

This collection of previously unpublished essays presents a broad range of explorations into the biographical genre of the Buddhist traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Each contribution examines sacred biography in one or more representational modalities in the texts, art history, literature, myths, rituals and cultures of the Buddhist tradition.

Scholars in the history of religions, anthropology, literature and art history present a broad range of explorations into sacred biography as an interpretive genre. The essays investigate both universal and local articulations of Buddhist sacred biography, illustrating the construction of interpretive frames of reference that map salient themes onto diverse contexts.

The combination of thematic depth and theoretical sophistication in Sacred Biography makes this volume innovative reading for all scholars with comparative interests.

Juliane Schober is professor of religious studies at Arizona State University.

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