Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How; then; to account for the long-standing veneration; in Asian Buddhist communities; of bone fragments; hair; teeth; and other bodily bits said to come from the historic Buddha? Early European and American scholars of religion; influenced by a characteristic Protestant bias against relic worship; declared such practices to be superstitious and fraudulent; and far from the true essence of Buddhism. John Strong's book; by contrast; argues that relic veneration has played a serious and integral role in Buddhist traditions in South and Southeast Asia-and that it is in no way foreign to Buddhism. The book is structured around the life story of the Buddha; starting with traditions about relics of previous buddhas and relics from the past lives of the Buddha Sakyamuni. It then considers the death of the Buddha; the collection of his bodily relics after his cremation; and stories of their spread to different parts of Asia. The book ends with a consideration of the legend of the future parinirvana (extinction) of the relics prior to the advent of the next Buddha; Maitreya. Throughout; the author does not hesitate to explore the many versions of these legends and to relate them to their ritual; doctrinal; artistic; and social contexts.
#914063 in Books Princeton University Press 1994-10-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .64 x 6.00l; .82 #File Name: 0691029652275 pages
Review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant and NecessaryBy Lynn Hoffman; author:Radiation Days: A ComedyThis is; of course; a book about Japan and Japanese attitudestoward birth; death and the fragility of life. Because it isalso a book about abortion; it also touches on an issue thatis incredibly hot in America even as abortion has becomean uncontroversial fact of life in most of the rest of theworld.So it is a tribute to the author's scholarship as well as tothe scope of his world view that he stays true to the businessof explaining a Japanese Buddhist take on the world withoutovertly indulging in taking sides in the American controversy.It' a tribute to his depth of understanding that in spite ofthis lack of partisanship; this splendid book has something toteach us all and some light to shed on the American debate.It would oversimplify LaFleur's arguement to sum it up; but onethread is something like this. The Japanese view of a newbornis that it is a potential life. This view is even more emphaticin the case of an unborn-a foetus. People become people inthis view by a gradual process of socialization.Rather than being heartless; this way of looking at things hasa great deal to recommend it-especially in days when infantmortality was high. Parents who lost a new-born or an unbornchild could pray for the return of that child in a subsequentpregnancy. The ritual system; which provided no funeral forone who died so young; affirmed the tentative nature of thedead one's membership in the human community.If it takes socialization to make a human and a family to makesocialization; then it is also up to the community and thefamily to decide if that's going to happen at all. In thisview; life in infancy is a liquid that hardens into indiv-iduality with time.So infant death and miscarriage are sad; but not final. Theunborn child gets to come around again; maybe with better karma.This; of course; removes abortion from the realm of murder/choice. It also forces all of us to see our various positonsin the American debate as products of our social and religiousassumptions just as the Japanese view is the product of theirs.Again; this is not a book about the American abortion wars.It is instead; a splendid book about Japanese religious beliefsacross a swath of history and how they affect attitudes. Bystaying true to his topic; LaFleur teaches us a great deal.--Lynn Hoffman; author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE andthe forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN978160164000512 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Not just a book about Japan...By Michael ValdivielsoWilliam R. LaFleur gives us a book which is well made. Piece by piece Mr. LaFleur goes over the history of abortion; buddhism; family planning; sexuality attitudes and even woman's lib in Japan. By the time he reaches his conclusion; you can't help but feel like you; yourself; have also researched and processed all the information.Near the end; when he compares the Japanese ideas to American ideas on the issue; you can't help but feel that maybe it was all a well placed trap; to get you to look at the whole mess from a different point of view; not just the pro-life/pro-choice; good/bad; yes/no; on/off American way (where every issue only has two sides and the winner gets total victory; so no mercy!)You might not like some of the points made; but it will sure force you to think.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great Book!By MarcSpectreI read this book over two years ago and yet I still find myself thinking about the more abstract ideas found in the book. If you are looking for a book to give you a good general overview and differing points of view then this is the book for you.
