The Buddhist Visnu - Religious Transformations, Politics, and Culture

Erscheinungsjahr 2005
ISBN: 978-0-231-13323-4
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 448 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 606 g

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Holt, John

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PrefacePart I. Introduction: The Historical and Theoretical Problems1. The "Hindu Buddha" and the "Buddhist Visnu"2. "Unceasing Waves": Brahmanical and Hindu Influences on Medieval Sinhala Buddhist Culture in Sri Lanka3. The Sandalwood Image: Upulvan Deviyo and the Origins of the Cult of Visnu in Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka4. Transformed Deity: The "Buddhist Visnu" in Sinhala Literature and LiturgyPart II. Introduction: The Cult of Visnu in Buddhist Sri Lanka5. Seeking Protection: Cultic Life at the Udarata Visnu Devalayas6. The Valiyaka Mangalya: The Curative Powers of the Mala Raja7. Legacies of the "Buddhist Visnu": Myth and Cult at the Alutnuvara Devalaya8. Minister of Defense? The Politics of Deification in Contemporary Sri LankaConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex of place namesIndex of Texts (Translated or Cited)Subject IndexMap

Über Autor(innen)

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.