This beautifully written work sheds new light on the origins and nature of Mahayana Buddhism with close readings of four well-known texts—the Lotus Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra, and Vimalakirtinirdesa. Treating these sutras as literary works rather than as straightforward philosophic or doctrinal treatises, Alan Cole argues that these writings were carefully sculpted to undermine traditional monastic Buddhism and to gain legitimacy and authority for Mahayana Buddhism as it was veering away from Buddhism’s older oral and institutional forms. His sophisticated and sustained analysis of the narrative structures and seductive literary strategies used in these sutras suggests that they were specifically written to encourage devotion to the written word instead of other forms of authority, be they human, institutional, or iconic.
Alan Cole, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Lewis & Clark College, is author of Mothers and Sons in Chinese Buddhism (1998).
"Cole felicitously combines humor and a light touch with seriousness and clarity. He is, to use one of his favorite words, a master of seduction, and is one of the best stylists in the field of Buddhist studies. "—John Strong, author of Relics of the Buddha
"In brilliant prose, Cole convinces us that we can deduce what kind of reader was imaginatively addressed by Mahayana sutras, showing us something of that elusive but crucial thing, religious subjectivity."—Angela Zito, New York University
372 pp.6 x 9
9780520242760$85.00|£71.00Hardcover
Aug 2005