Buddhist monasteries in medieval China employed a variety of practices to ensure their ascendancy and survival. Most successful was the exchange of material goods for salvation; as in the donation of land; which allowed monks to spread their teachings throughout China. By investigating a variety of socioeconomic spaces produced and perpetuated by Chinese monasteries; Michael J. Walsh reveals the "sacred economies" that shaped early Buddhism and its relationship with consumption and salvation.Centering his study on Tiantong; a Buddhist monastery that has thrived for close to seventeen centuries in southeast China; Walsh follows three main topics: the spaces monks produced; within and around which a community could pursue a meaningful existence; the social and economic avenues through which monasteries provided diverse sacred resources and secured the primacy of Buddhist teachings within an agrarian culture; and the nature of "transactive" participation within monastic spaces; which later became a fundamental component of a broader Chinese religiosity. Unpacking these sacred economies and repositioning them within the history of religion in China; Walsh encourages a different approach to the study of Chinese religion; emphasizing the critical link between religious exchange and the production of material culture.
#492489 in Books 2008-10-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x 1.00 x 6.30l; 1.20 #File Name: 0231136129296 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Muslim Eastern Spain fatwa development 1400-1500By William Garrison Jr."Guardians of Islam" by Kathryn A. Miller (2008); 276 pages: 181 pages of text; another 60 pages of notes; with 32 pages of bibliography and index; totaling 276 pages. C. early 2013 a "Look Inside" feature became available - you can read much of the book online now. The purpose of this book is to review how Muslim religious scholars (imams) advised how Muslims could follow Islamic theological and sociological teachings while living amongst hostile Christians in the Aragon region of north-eastern Spain (sharq al-Andalus) during the 1400s. This is the era immediately before the Christian monarch ordered that Muslims had to either convert to Christianity or move outside Spain. The author wrote about tasks and procedures of scribes in developing fatawa in guiding 15th-century Spanish Muslims in how to properly act as Muslims; but this book does not list specific legal guidelines nor penalties. Not a "100 ahadith codices" guidebook. It reviews the legal conflicts between Muslims and Christian as Christians invaders took over Muslim lands (which centuries earlier had been Christian). The author reviews Islamic disputes over whether or not Christians are "najas" (impure) and therefore cannot issue legal opinions involving Muslims (p.117). Regarding this "clash of civilizations" the author noted: Ibn Miqlash "specifically said that the Muslim's jihad; or effort to come closer to God; would receive no thanks in heaven if he fraternized with Christians" (p. 129). Or the preacher Ibn Miqlash: "The Muslim who spends time with a Christian for forty days in friendship; if he dies during these forty days; he dies as a disbeliever and goes to hell" (p. 148). The author devotes an interesting and informative chapter discussing the ransom of Christians and Muslims between one another. As Muslim Spain became Christianized; the Muslims fervently objected to their fellow Muslims converting to Christianity. So much so; that "King Fernando was so certain that Mudejar families would respond with rage that he discouraged a young Muslim from turning to Christianity" (p. 174). Islamic jurists began issuing guidance on how Muslims could perform `taqiyya' (dissimulation) to hide themselves from their Christian overlords. There is no broad scope analysis of Islamic law in Spain; but more of a limited "istifta" case discussion; such as: "Two brothers were contracted to marry two sisters until one of the sisters became pregnant by her future brother-in-law; not her future husband" (p. 94). But only a handful of usually marriage-related dowry-payment issues. Not an extensive legal treatise. The author lists herself as a historian; not as an attorney. This book discusses how Muslim scribes copied Islamic legal texts; and how they were shared between jurists - and appeal to Muslim jurists in northern Africa for advice. Not an analysis as to how Islamic legal theory (fiqh) changed over time; as the author noted: "Nor do we know for certain whether the Mudejars issued fatwas in the fifteenth century" (p. 123). "Ibn `Abbad blamed the Mudejars for neglecting Maliki canonical literature" (p. 110). "Mudejar textual production has conventionally been faulted for its lack of originality" (p.111). I don't see original translations of Spanish or Islamic texts - more historical analysis than translation originality (I could be wrong; but no "I interpreted this colophon as `xxx' in contrast to B. Lewis."). Very well written; but not in my area of interest. I didn't get the feeling that any of this really matters to anything Islamic outside of Eastern Spain in the 1400-1500.
