Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2004
Published In
Becoming The Buddha: The Ritual Of Image Consecration In Thailand
Series Title
Buddhisms
Abstract
Becoming the Buddha is the first book-length study of a key ritual of Buddhist practice in Asia: the consecration of a Buddha image or new Buddha," a ceremony by which the Buddha becomes present or alive. Through a richly detailed, accessible exploration of this ritual in northern Thailand, an exploration that stands apart from standard text-based or anthropological approaches, Donald Swearer makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Buddha image, its role in Buddhist devotional life, and its relationship to the veneration of Buddha relics. Blending ethnography, analysis, and Buddhist texts related to this mimetic reenactment of the night of the Buddha's enlightenment, he demonstrates that the image becomes the Buddha's surrogate by being invested with the Buddha's story and charged with the extraordinary power of Buddhahood. The process by which this transformation occurs through chant, sermon, meditation, and the presence of charismatic monks is at the heart of this book.
Published By
Princeton University Press
Recommended Citation
Donald K. Swearer. (2004). Becoming The Buddha: The Ritual Of Image Consecration In Thailand.
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-religion/66
Comments
The introduction of this work is freely available courtesy of Princeton University Press.
Copyright ©2004 by Princeton University Press.
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