1st Edition
Empty Vision Metaphor and Visionary Imagery in Mahayana Buddhism
By David McMahan
Copyright 2002
240 Pages
by
Routledge
240 Pages
by
Routledge
240 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Visual metaphors in a number of Mahayana sutras construct a discourse in which visual perception serves as a model for knowledge and enlightenment. In the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) and other Mahayana literature, immediate access to reality is symbolized by vision and set in opposition to language and conceptual thinking, which are construed as obscuring reality. In addition to its... Read more
Acknowledgements Technical Note on Terms Introduction 1. The Devaluation of Language and the Privileging of Perception 2. Buddhist Visuality in History Metaphor 3. Orality, Writing, and Authority: Visionary Literature and the Struggle for Legitimacy in the Mahayana 4. Realms of the Senses: Buddha Fields and Fields of Vision in the Gandavyuha Sutra 5. The Optics of Buddhist Meditation and Devotion 6. Conclusions and Occlusions Notes Bibliography Index
Biography
McMahan, David
