Buddhist hagiography in early Japan : images of compassion in the Gyōki tradition
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Buddhist hagiography in early Japan : images of compassion in the Gyōki tradition
(Curzon studies in Asian religion)
RoutledgeCurzon, 2012
- : pbk
Available at 3 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Originally published: 2005
Includes bibliographical references (p. [159]-165) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Hagiographies or idealized biographies which recount the lives of saints, bodhisattvas and other charismatic figures have been the meeting place for myth and experience. In medieval Europe, the 'lives of saints' were read during liturgical celebrations and the texts themselves were treated as sacred objects. In Japan, it was believed that those who read the biographies of lofty monks would acquire merit. Since hagiographies were written or compiled by 'believers', the line between fantasy and reality was often obscured. This study of the bodhisattva Gyoki - regarded as the monk who started the largest social welfare movement in Japan - illustrates how Japanese Buddhist hagiographers chose to regard a single monk's charitable activities as a miraculous achievement that shaped the course of Japanese history.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Uncovering the Lives of Gyoki 1. The Received Biography of Gyoki 2. The Historicity of Gyoki's Accounts 3. Gyoki and the Soniryo: Violations of Early Monastic Regulations in Japan 4. Gyoki and the Politics of the Nara Court 5. Gyoki's Charitable Projects 6. The Development of Gyoki Biographies 7. Conclusion
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