Religious giving and the invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism PDF
Preview Religious giving and the invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism
Religious Giving and the Invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism Curzon Studies in Asian Religion Series Editor: Sue Hamilton, King's College, London Editorial Advisory Board: Nick Allen, University of Oxford Catherine Despeux, INALCO, Paris Chris Minkowski, Cornell University Fabio Rambelli, Williams College, Massachusetts Andrew Rippin, University of Calgary Curzon press publishes a Series specifically devoted to Asian Religion, considered from a variety of perspectives: those of theology, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, history, politics and literature. The primary objects of study will be all the religious traditions of the Indian sub-continent, Tibet, China, Japan, South-East Asia, Central Asia, and the Near and Middle East. The methodology used in the works published in the Series is either comparative or one focused on (a feature of) a specific tradition. The level of readership ranges from undergraduates to specialist scholars. The type of book varies from the introductory textbook to the scholarly monograph. Proposal or scripts for the Series will be welcomed by the Series Editor or by Jonathan Price, Chief Editor, Curzon Press. Religious Giving and the Invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism James R. Egge I~ ~~o~~~~n~~:up LONDON AND NEW YORK First Published in 2002 by Curzon Press Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint oft he Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business <9 2002 James R. Egge Typeset in Horley Old Style by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey All rights reserved. No part of this cook may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 13: 978-0-700-71506-0 (hbk) CONTENTS Acknowledgements Vll Abbreviations lX Introduction: Question and Method 1 Meritorious giving and mental purification: one path or two? 1 Sacrifice and karma in the suttas and in history 5 The plan of this book 10 Part One Sacrifice and Karma in Didactic Verse and Discursive Prose Chapter One: The Discourse of Sacrifice 15 The structure of Brahmanical sacrifice 15 Almsgiving as meritorious sacrifice 19 Uposatha observance as meritorious votive asceticism 26 Almsgiving as transfer of sacrificial substance 29 Why sacrifice? 32 Another ideology of the gift 34 Chapter Two: The Discourse of Karma 41 Karma in early Buddhist prose literature 41 Representations of Vedic sacrifice in karmic prose 47 The reduction of sacrifice to karma 52 Why karma? 60 The invention of karma in ancient South Asia 62 Part Two Sacrifice and Karma in Narrative Chapter Three: The Centrality of Sacrifice in Vimanavatthu and Petavatthu 71 Meritorious and demeritorious acts 73 Eschatology and cosmology 78 The attainment of nirvat,la 81 CONTENTS The dedication of dak!?il).a 82 Representations of givers 86 Chapter Four: The Commentaries' Karmic Retelling of the Vimanavatthu and Petavatthu Narratives 89 Meritorious and demeritorious acts 90 Eschatology and cosmology 92 The dedication of dak!?il).a and the dedication of merit 95 The social context of progress toward nirval).a 98 Chapter Five: Giving as Sacrifice, Karma, and Heroic Generosity in SihalavatthuppakaraT}a 101 Meritorious acts and their fruits 101 The attainment of nirv3.l).a 107 Demeritorious acts and the dedication of gifts 109 The social context of giving and of progress toward nirv3.l).a 113 Afterword: Doctrine and Narrative 115 Notes 119 Bibliography 167 Editions and translations of primary texts 167 Secondary literature 172 Index 189 Vi COCNOTNENTCTEONS TNST ENTS I would like first to thank those who enabled me to write the doctoral dissertation upon which this book is based. Frank Reynolds introduced me to the study of Theravada Buddhism, mentored me through my years in graduate school, and continually challenged me to think about the larger questions that my research might be answering. Wendy Doniger was a great source of advice, criticism, and encouragement, and was my primary guide to Vedic literature. Steve Collins taught me how to read Theravadin texts, both in English and in Pali, suggested many paths of inquiry that ultimately proved fruitful, and offered invaluable critiques of my arguments and translations. I hope that readers will recognize his influence on the better parts of this book. Other teachers and colleagues at the University of Chicago, including Paul Griffiths, Matthew Kapstein, and Robert Yelle, listened to presentations of work in progress and made useful comments. Jon Walters kindly read an early attempt to formulate my argument and sent me back to the drawing board, and Maria Hibbets and Charles Ilallisey shared their insights on giving and karma in Theravada and other South Asian traditions. During the process of writing this book, my colleagues in the Religion Department of Concordia College helped me to think about how to present my claims to a non-specialist audience. Sue Hamilton, Joseph Walser, and Jeff Shirkey read versions of the manuscript, and by following many of their suggestions I have improved it significantly; the shortcomings that remain are of course my own responsibility. I owe a debt of gratitude to the editors and translators on whose work I have depended. When not otherwise indicated, for the sake of consistency I offer my own translations of Sanskrit and Pali texts, but in most cases I do not think that my translations represent an improvement over those of my predecessors, and in every case I have benefited from consulting their work. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Most of all, I thank my family and friends whose loving support made it possible for me to carry out this project. I gratefully dedicate this book to the memory of my grandparents, Olav and Inger Olsen and Joseph and Blenda Egge. Vlll ------{I. .C.O, INC ,1TO.1 EINN.TI TEiS.NC TIS) §C_II------ A Ailguttara Nikaya AB Aitareya BrahmaI).a ADhKBh Abhidharmako§abha~ya Ap Apadana ApDhS Apastambha Dharmasl1tra ApSS Apastambha SrautasGtra A§vGS A§valayana GrhyasGtra AV Atharva Veda Ayar Ayararp.ga BAp Buddhapadana BAu BrhadaraQ.yaka Upani~ad BDhS Baudhayana DharmasGtra Bv Buddhavarp.sa ChU Chandogya U pani~ad Cp Cariyapitaka CPD Critical Pali Dictionary CS Chattha Sailgayana D DIgha Nikaya Dasav Dasaveyaliya Dhp Dhammapada Dhp-a Dhammapada -atthakatha Dhs DhammasailgaQ.I GDhS Gautama DharmasGtra It Itivuttaka It-a Itivuttaka-atthakatha (ParamatthadlpanI II) J Jataka Ja Jataka-atthakatha (includes Jataka text) JB Jaiminlya BrahmaQ.a KapS Kapi~thala Sarp.hita Khp Khuddakapatha KS Kathaka Sarp.hita IX
The list of books you might like
