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Hermeneutics and Tradition in the Saṃdhinirmocana-Sūtra
Series: - Indian Thought, Volume: 5
Author:
This volume deals with the complex interrelationship between theories of scriptural interpretation and Buddhist notions of tradition and authority with respect to the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, the main scriptural source of the Yogacara school of Indian Buddhism. Of particular concern is the political dimension of Buddhist thought as reflected in this text, speculation on how the sutra might have been written in order to influence power relations in the Buddhist community, and how its arguments are structured in accordance with Buddhist ideas of tradition and authority.
This study looks at the text from a number of perspectives, including several current methodological models, philological analysis, and historical considerations. The purpose of this approach is to provide a multi-faceted analysis of this complex work.
This study looks at the text from a number of perspectives, including several current methodological models, philological analysis, and historical considerations. The purpose of this approach is to provide a multi-faceted analysis of this complex work.
C. John Powers, Ph.D. (1991), University of Virginia, is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA. He has published a number of works on Buddhist and Western philosophy and religion
'...le texte porte tout l'essentiel des problèmes permanents du bouddhisme.'
J.M., Nouvelle Revue Théologique, 1994.
'The main strength of this study lies not just in the author's carefully balanced explanation of the sutra's hermeneutical position but in the way it is explained in terms of the socio-political environment in which the sutra operated ...this study deserves a wider audience for the way in which it demonstrates that religious texts, if they are to be fully understood, cannot be considered in isolation from the author's intentions and the social and political milieu in which they are written.'
Peter Hill, South Asia, 1995.
J.M., Nouvelle Revue Théologique, 1994.
'The main strength of this study lies not just in the author's carefully balanced explanation of the sutra's hermeneutical position but in the way it is explained in terms of the socio-political environment in which the sutra operated ...this study deserves a wider audience for the way in which it demonstrates that religious texts, if they are to be fully understood, cannot be considered in isolation from the author's intentions and the social and political milieu in which they are written.'
Peter Hill, South Asia, 1995.
All those interested in Buddhist philosophy and in the political dimensions of religious thought, the Yogacara school, and in Buddhist