Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India

Studies in the Buddhist Traditions

by Gregory Schopen

From the Preface "The present volume provides an essential foundation for a social history of Indian Buddhist monasticism. Challenging the popular stereotype that represented the accumulation of merit as the domain of the layperson while monks concerned themselves with more sophisticated realms of doctrine and meditation, Professor Schopen problematizes many assumptions about the lay-monastic distinction by demonstrating that monks and nuns, both the scholastic elites and the less learned, participated actively in a wide range of ritual practices and institutions that have heretofore been judged 'popular,' from the accumulation and transfer of merit; to the care of deceased relatives;.... Taken together, the studies contained in this volume represent the basis for a new historiography of Buddhism, not only for their critique of many of the idees recues of Buddhist Studies but for the compelling connections they draw between apparently disparate details." --Donald S. Lopez, Jr.

Genres: Buddhism, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[GJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's difficult to think of a better book on Indian Buddhist history. The thesis throughout all the essays: previous scholarship on Indian Buddhism has focused on the doctrines found in textual sources, whereas the archaeological record shows the the practices of the Indian Buddhists shows that they were (willfully or otherwise) of the doctrines found in the text, and that the text's contents (doctrine, philosophy, etc) were maybe known by only a tiny elite few, and that the religion practiced was far different that we assumed when giving primary to the texted. MacArthur Genius Fellow, Schopen takes us to different sites for bones and stones that show us an Indian Buddhist world we hardly yet know. A perfect entry point to Indian Buddhist history since it is the beginning of a current paradigm shift (Schopen's fault) in this field.

[Amanda Spradling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to take a class with Professor Schopen. He's totally brilliant and turned the field of Buddhist Studies upside down by looking at original inscriptions and translating them himself, as opposed to trusting others previous translations (and mistakes). I love that he wants to know Buddhism for what it is, and not for some romantic western view we have of it. Monks needed to make money too!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of Schopen's articles from the eighties and early nineties. Read the scriptures as evidence in light of the archaeology and epigraphy, not the reverse! Here we can see monks building and dedicating stupas, transferring merits, worrying about their parents, placing their remains close to the Buddha's in mini-stupas, and treating the big B as a legal person and resident.

[Suddhi Nano · Rating 5 out of 5]

草草只瞄了第四第五章，关于南传佛教的比较多一点的讨论，原来和尚跟经忏超度这些仪式几乎一点不挂钩！还有就是那些神像之类的。作者引用的书籍真是吓死人！以后不知道读什么，可以来翻翻他的引用的书籍目录。