Awarded the Prix Stanislas Julien by the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-LettresThe Wheel of Rebirth is one of the most basic and popular images in Buddhist visual culture. For nearly two thousand years; artists have painted it onto the porches of Buddhist temples; preachers have used it to explain karmic retribution; and philosophers have invoked it to illuminate the contrast between ignorance and nirvana. In Reinventing the Wheel; noted scholar Stephen F. Teiser explores the history and varied interpretations of the Wheel of Rebirth; a circle divided into sections depicting the Buddhist cycle of transmigration.Combining visual evidence with textual sources; Reinventing the Wheel shows how the metaphor of the wheel has been interpreted in divergent local traditions; from India to Tibet; Central Asia; and China. Teiser deftly shows how written and painted renditions of the wheel have animated local architectural sites and religious rituals; informing concepts of time and reincarnation and acting as an organizing principle in the cosmology and daily life of practicing Buddhists.Engaging and accessible; this uniquely pan-Buddhist tour will appeal to anyone interested in Buddhist culture; as well as to scholars of religious studies; art history; architecture; philosophy; and textual studies.
#95256 in Books 1982-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .72 x 5.98l; 1.10 #File Name: 0295958464296 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very good readBy Michiele ShawI live in the Seattle area and heard about this book while reading another book. I'm so glad I wrote it down and ordered it; because I learned a great deal about Seattle; and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is welcoming and easy while still giving a very good overview of this city.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Flavorful intro to Seattle and Northwest historyBy Joe KingThis is the great popular history of Seattle. Learn about the pioneers behind the downtown streetnames: Denny; Stewart; Mercer; and more. Yes; there was history here before Grunge -- and it was even more earthy.The colorful stories just don't stop: the founding and abandonment of Alki (now West Seattle); the "Battle of Seattle;" with the settlers hiding in a fort; Chief Sealth's myth and legacy; the Great Seattle Fire that burnt down Pioneer Square; and the landfill into the Sound that rebuilt it; how Seattle overtook Tacoma as the dominant city on Puget Sound by luring miners bound for the Yukon Gold Rush with the promise of "the best whorehouses north of San Francisco" and; of course; provisions for the trail and for prospecting; the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition on the University of Washington grounds; designed by the Olmstead Brothers (of Central Park fame); Seattle's mixed role in the anti-Chinese mob violence that swept up the Pacific coast in the 1880s; the outrageously mammoth public works projects sluicing Denny Hill flat; using the dirt for landfill on the waterfront; and creating the worlds largest man-made island in the harbor; the Seattle General Strike of 1919 that prompted a nation-wide red scare;and more and more and more.It makes me breathless just to type this! A very enjoyable read; in a breezy story-telling style; Skid Road gives you more of a flavor of where Seattle came from in just a few hours than anything else.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good one!By Marc Ellen HamelGreat history of Seattle; I am really enjoying it. Lots of interesting stories; embarrassing to read of the mistreatment of Chinese people who helpef build the city. I wish the folks who made "Deadwood" would do these stories; too!
