From stone to flesh : a short history of the Buddha / Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Author
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., 1952- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, [2013]
  • ©2013.
Description
289 pages ; 24 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks BQ894 .L67 2013 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    Buddhism and modernity [More in this series]
    Summary note
    We have come to admire Buddhism for being profound but accessible, as much a lifestyle as a religion. The credit for creating Buddhism goes to the Buddha, a figure widely respected across the Western world for his philosophical insight, his teachings of nonviolence, and his practice of meditation. But who was this Buddha, and how did he become the Buddha we know and love today? The author, a historian of Buddhism tells the story of how various idols carved in stone, variously named Beddou, Codam, Xaca, and Fo, became the man of flesh and blood that we know simply as the Buddha. He reveals that the positive view of the Buddha in Europe and America is rather recent, originating a little more than a hundred and fifty years ago. For centuries, the Buddha was condemned by Western writers as the most dangerous idol of the Orient. He was a demon, the murderer of his mother, a purveyor of idolatry. Here the author provides a history of depictions of the Buddha from classical accounts and medieval stories to the testimonies of European travelers, diplomats, soldiers, and missionaries. He shows that centuries of hostility toward the Buddha changed dramatically in the nineteenth century, when the teachings of the Buddha, having disappeared from India by the fourteenth century, were read by European scholars newly proficient in Asian languages. At the same time, the traditional view of the Buddha persisted in Asia, where he was revered as much for his supernatural powers as for his philosophical insights. This book follows the twists and turns of these Eastern and Western notions of the Buddha, leading finally to his triumph as the founder of a world religion.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-275) and index.
    Contents
    • The idol
    • The myth
    • The man
    • The text
    • Conclusion: the aftermath.
    ISBN
    • 9780226493206 (hardcover : alkaline paper)
    • 0226493202 (hardcover : alkaline paper)
    LCCN
    2012030881
    OCLC
    805701766
    Other standard number
    • 40022179502
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