Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: Utopias of the Pali Imaginaire: 12 (Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions, Series Number 12) - Hardcover

Collins, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521570549 ISBN 13: 9780521570541

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1998

Synopsis

This book presents an answer to the question: what is nirvana? Part I distinguishes between systematic and narrative thought in the Pali texts of Theravada Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia, arguing that nirvana produces closure in both, and setting nirvana in the wider category of Buddhist Felicities. Part II explores other Buddhist utopias (both eu-topias, 'good places', and ou-topias, 'no-places'), and relates Buddhist utopianism to studies of European and American utopian writing. The book ends with a close reading of the Vessantara Jataka, which highlights the conflict between the ascetic quest for closure and ultimate felicity, and the ongoing demands of ordinary life and society. Steven Collins discusses these issues in relation to textuality, world history and ideology in premodern civilizations, aiming to contribute to an alternate vision of Buddhist history, which can hold both the inside and the outside of texts together.

About this title

Review:

"This major publication belongs in all undergraduate and graduate libraries supporting religious studies programs." John Clifford Holt, Religious Studies Review

"This is a fantastic work. It is highly informative, intriguing, and thoroughly researched. I recommend it without reservation for anyone interested in the Pali literature. The only criticism I have is that the author might have made this one colossal work into a few smaller ones. Otherwise, this is an excellent accomplishment." Vanessa Sasson, ARC, the Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University

Book Description:

This book discusses nirvana, Buddhist utopias, textuality and the study of premodern civilizations. By setting nirvana in the wider category of Buddhist Felicities and integrating Buddhist texts with South Asian and World history, Steve Collins has developed an interesting approach to the the question: what is nirvana?

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0521570549
• ISBN 13: 9780521570541
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 712