Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities

Steven Collins author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:2nd Nov '06

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Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities cover

Examines the meaning of 'nirvana' and discusses Buddhist utopias, textuality and world history.

This book discusses nirvana, Buddhist utopias, textuality and the study of premodern civilizations. By setting nirvana in the wider category of Buddhist Felicities and integrating Buddhist texts with South Asian and World history, Steve Collins has developed an interesting approach to the the question: what is nirvana?This book presents an answer to the question: what is nirvana? Part I distinguishes between systematic and narrative thought in the Pali texts of Theravada Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia, arguing that nirvana produces closure in both, and setting nirvana in the wider category of Buddhist Felicities. Part II explores other Buddhist utopias (both eu-topias, 'good places', and ou-topias, 'no-places'), and relates Buddhist utopianism to studies of European and American utopian writing. The book ends with a close reading of the Vessantara Jataka, which highlights the conflict between the ascetic quest for closure and ultimate felicity, and the ongoing demands of ordinary life and society. Steven Collins discusses these issues in relation to textuality, world history and ideology in premodern civilizations, aiming to contribute to an alternate vision of Buddhist history, which can hold both the inside and the outside of texts together.

"This major publication belongs in all undergraduate and graduate libraries supporting religious studies programs." John Clifford Holt, Religious Studies Review
"This is a fantastic work. It is highly informative, intriguing, and thoroughly researched. I recommend it without reservation for anyone interested in the Pali literature. The only criticism I have is that the author might have made this one colossal work into a few smaller ones. Otherwise, this is an excellent accomplishment." Vanessa Sasson, ARC, the Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University

ISBN: 9780521578424

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 40mm

Weight: 1030g

712 pages