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Burning for the Buddha

Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism

James A Benn author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Hawai'i Press

Published:28th Feb '07

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Burning for the Buddha cover

Burning for the Buddha is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of ""abandoning the body"" (self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. It examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context. Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on the ways in which the heroic ideals of the bodhisattva present in scriptural materials such as the Lotus Sutra played out in the realm of religious practice on the ground.

Benn explores one of the most striking customs in the history of Chinese Buddhism, showing that, far from a marginal act by disturbed deviants, self-immolation was a carefully considered, mainstream practice. - John Kieschnick, University of Bristol ""James Benn has produced a masterpiece on the practice of self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism. This wonderfully written and thoroughly researched book will remain the authoritative treatment of the subject for generations to come."" - John Strong, Bates College

ISBN: 9780824829926

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 750g

376 pages