The Weaving of Mantra: Kűkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse - Softcover

Abé, Ryűichi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231112874 ISBN 13: 9780231112871

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Ryűichi Abé presents the most thorough and innovative study to date on the Buddhist figure Kűkai (774 - 835) -- one that constitutes a radically different approach to the research on early Japanese religious history. Kűkai is generally credited with the formal establishment of tantric -- or esoteric -- Buddhism in Japan and as the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism. Abé contends that the importance of Kűkai's transmission of esoteric Buddhism to Japan lay not in the foundation of a new sect but in his creation of a general theory of language grounded in the ritual speech of mantra.

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Review:

This is a remarkable book about one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Japanese Buddhism...Abe's book will certainly emerge and remain the primary examination of Kűkai's life and thought for many years to come. It is thus a crucial read for anyone interested in early Japanese religion and intellectual history...The Weaving of Mantra provides a very lengthy, detailed, and substantial intellectual historical analysis of Kűkai...[T]his book is a monumental achievement that will fascinate students of Japanese religion and stimulate much discussion among historians.--Steven Heine "Journal of Asian Studies "

Abé has made a major contribution to our understanding of the figure of Kukai, of Esoteric Buddhism, of the political, intellectual and religious situation of the Nara and early Heian periods, and of our view of medieval Japanese Buddhism as a whole. He has command of an impressive range of sources, both classical and modern, and he has a sophisticated grasp of recent theoretical discussions.... Both in the new readings of early and medieval Japanese Buddhism that it advances and in the discussions that it will stimulate, this volume stands as a major addition to the field.--Paul B. Watt "Journal of Asian History "

From the Back Cover:

The great Buddhist priest Kukai (774-835) introduced and established tantric -- or esoteric -- Buddhism in early ninth-century Japan. Ryuichi Abe examines this momentous religious figure and his profound influence on Japanese culture. Offering a radically new approach to the study of early religious history that combines historical research, discourse analysis, literary criticism, and semiology, Abe contends that the importance of Kukai's transmission of esoteric Buddhism to Japan lay less in the foundation of a new sect than in his creation of a general theory of language grounded in the ritual speech of mantra. Exploring the rich rhetorical strategies Kukai employed in his works, The Weaving of Mantra illuminates both what his texts meant to his readers and what goals guided the creation of a powerful discourse that ultimately transformed Japanese culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0231112874
• ISBN 13: 9780231112871
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 616