Illuminating the Life of the Buddha – An Illustrated Chanting Book from Eighteenth–Century Siam - Hardcover

Appleton, Naomi; Shaw, Sarah; Unebe, Toshiya

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 185124283X ISBN 13: 9781851242832

Publisher: The Bodleian Library, 2013

Synopsis

This lavishly illustrated book investigates an outstanding eighteenth-century example of a samut khoi, a type of beautiful folding book found in Southeast Asia, which became particularly popular as a repository for the Buddha's teachings. Written in Pali and produced in the Kingdom of Siam, its finely executed pictures, painted on khoi paper, show key incidents from stories of the past lives of the Buddha as he prepares for Buddhahood. These tales, historically one of the principal means whereby Buddhist teachings were communicated, known as Jatakas, are a favourite theme for manuscript art. Uniquely for such manuscripts, however, this samut khoi also offers an extensive series of scenes from the last life of the Buddha, including his final awakening and teaching, which is distinctive to the region. These related narratives all contribute to a superb example of eighteenth-century manuscript and calligraphic art. As well as affording great artistic opportunities for expressing the beauty of the Buddha's words and achievements, samut khois are repositories for popular chants and short distillations of doctrine.This book describes the context to this unusually rich expression of Thai Buddhist creativity and, in retelling the stories depicted, reveals the continued appeal of its closely related art and narrative traditions.

About this title

Review:

"Illuminating the Life of the Buddha is not only a descriptive book on a Siamese manuscript of the Eighteenth-century, but also a genuine homage to the culture, art, and the religious afflatus that created it. This work is undoubtedly one of the most important recent contributions to the study of Southeast Asian Buddhism and Thai narrative art.'-- (02/27/2014)

"Throughout this interesting and beautifully illustrated volume, we are given a strong sense of the way in which this exceptionally beautiful eighteenth-century manuscript fits into not only the history but also the lived reality of contemporary Buddhist life."--Journal of Contemporary Religion (09/15/2014)

"An absolute essential resource. . . . The best resource for the study of pre-modern Siamese Buddhist art and lit-erature to come out in over a decade, and one of the most significant publica-tions in the history of Thai Buddhism."-- (06/25/2015)

"Richly illustrated, . . . [Illuminating the Life of the Buddha] gives a good idea of what stories and themes have been considered important in popular tradition. . . . A suitable introduction to the illustrative traditions of late eighteenth century Thailand, and by extension. much of southern Buddhism."-- (06/25/2015)

About the Author:

Naomi Appleton is Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Sarah Shaw is a member of Wolfson College and the Oriental Institute and an honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Toshiya Unebe is Associate Professor in the Department of Indian Studies at Nagoya University, Japan.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Bodleian Library
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 185124283X
• ISBN 13: 9781851242832
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160