The Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings. By Chittadhar Hṛdaya. Translated by Todd T. Lewis and Subarna Man Tuladhar. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2019. 448 pages. $24.95 (paperback), ISBN 9781611806199. The Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings is the third (and final) incarnation of Todd T. Lewis and Subarna Man Tuladhar’s translation of Chittadhar Hṛdaya’s epic…
Year: 2024
REVIEW: Making a Mantra
Making a Mantra: Tantric Ritual and Renunciation on the Jain Path of Liberation. By Ellen Gough. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2021. 315 pages with bibliography, index, and 20 halftone illustrations. $95 (hardcover), ISBN 9780226766904; $30 (paperback), ISBN 9780226767062. This book transforms at least four fields of study: the study of mantras, the study of the Jain…
The Chinese Biography of Jīvaka, Buddhist King of Physicians
Jīvaka is a legendary physician frequently mentioned in Buddhist sources. Buddhist traditions from around Asia present him as a model healer and lay patron of the monastic order. The extant biographies can be divided into three relatively distinct streams of transmission (Pāli, Sanskrit-Tibetan, and Chinese), and regionally specific legends about Jīvaka have grown around this core narrative. While the other versions of the legend have been translated into English, the Chinese biography of Jīvaka has yet to be. Jīvaka’s legend is found in Chinese in several different versions dating from the fourth to fifth centuries. The translation below is of the longer recension of the Chinese Jīvaka biography, called the Āmrapāli and Jīvaka Avadāna Sutra (Foshuo nainü Zhiyu yinyuan jing 佛說㮈女祇域因緣經), found in text number 553 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. The translation was completed by William Giddings, while this introduction was authored by Pierce Salguero.
Where Are the Nuns in Chinese Pure Land Buddhist History?
This study is a survey and analysis of accounts preserved in premodern Chinese Buddhist hagiographic collectanea of nuns primarily identified as Pure Land. Dating from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries, these accounts, while relatively scanty and often sparse in detail, provide important glimpses into the place of monastic women in a tradition known more for its emphasis on female domestic piety.