Buddha in the Crown: Avalokiteśvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri LankaHistorical, anthropological, and philosophical in approach, Buddha in the Crown is a case study in religious and cultural change. It examines the various ways in which Avalokitesvara, the most well known and proliferated bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism throughout south, southeast, and east Asia, was assimilated into the transforming religious culture of Sri Lanka, one of the most pluralistic in Asia. Exploring the expressions of the bodhisattva's cult in Sanskrit and Sinhala literature, in iconography, epigraphy, ritual, symbol, and myth, the author develops a provocative thesis regarding the dynamics of religious change. Interdisciplinary in scope, addressing a wide variety of issues relating to Buddhist thought and practice, and providing new and original information on the rich cultural history of Sri Lanka, this book will interest students of Buddhism and South Asia. |
Contents
The Setting and the Problem | 3 |
2 The Relevant Historical and Doctrinal Background | 27 |
The Iconography of Avalokite347vara and N257tha | 72 |
Avalokite347vara Becomes N257tha Deviyo | 91 |
N257tha and Pitiye in Kandyan Folklore | 125 |
Oral Traditions at Rural Kandyan N257tha Dev257layas | 151 |
Center and Periphery in the Kandyan Kingdom | 176 |
8 N257tha and the Rock Chief | 202 |
MaitreyaintheMaking | 214 |
Notes | 226 |
| 245 | |
| 254 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abhayagiri Alakeśvara Amitabha Anuradhapura assimilation Avalokitesvara become bhikkhus Bhuvanekabāhu bodhisattva Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Buddha century A.D. Chola context cult of Avalokitesvara cultic Dēviyō devotees dhyāni buddha divine Dodanvela dukkha Dumbara fact Gala Baṇḍāra Gampola gods Hindu Hunapahura icon iconography inscription island John Clifford Holt Kandy Kandyan kingdom Kandyan kings kapurāla Kataragama Kelaniya kingship Kotte laity Lankatilaka Lokeśvara lokitesvara lōkōttara Mahāvihāra Mahāyāna Mahāyāna bodhisattva Maitreya Maitrī medieval Metteyya modern monastic monks motifs myth mythic Na tree Narendra Simha Nätha Natha dēvālaya nibbāna Obeyesekere origins Pāli Pallava Parakramabahu Paranavitana Pasgama perahära period Pițiye Plate political popular purity rājakāriya rāṇḍoli referred regarded region reign religion religious culture rites ritual royal sacred samsāra Sandēśaya sangha Sanskrit significance Sinhala Buddhist Sinhala culture Sinhalese Śiva soteriology south India specifically spiritual Sri Lanka Śrī Rāhula sūtras symbolism Tamil Theravada this-worldly tion Tiriyaya traditional tree up-country Urulevatte Vegiriya Vibhīṣana vihāraya village Vimala Dharma yakṣas