Charming Cadavers

Horrific Figurations of the Feminine in Indian Buddhist Hagiographic Literature

By: Liz Wilson

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Paperback | 1 December 1996 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
276 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
2.28 x 1.53 x 0.17

Paperback

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In this highly original study of sexuality, desire, the body, and women,
Liz Wilson investigates first-millennium Buddhist notions of
spirituality. She argues that despite the marginal role women played in
monastic life, they occupied a very conspicuous place in Buddhist
hagiographic literature. In narratives used for the edification of
Buddhist monks, women's bodies in decay (diseased, dying, and after
death) served as a central object for meditation, inspiring spiritual
growth through sexual abstention and repulsion in the immediate world.

Taking up a set of universal concerns connected with the representation
of women, Wilson displays the pervasiveness of androcentrism in Buddhist
literature and practice. She also makes persuasive use of recent
historical work on the religious lives of women in medieval
Christianity, finding common ground in the role of miraculous
afflictions.

This lively and readable study brings provocative new tools and insights
to the study of women in religious life.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Religion & Beliefs Buddhism Aspects of Religion for Non-Christians Religious Life & Practice Religious Aspects of Sexuality Theology Society & Culture Social Groups Gender Studies Gender Studies: Women and Girls Miscellaneous Items

Foreword
Preface
Note on Terminology
Introduction
Celibacy and the Social World
"Like a Boil with Nine Openings": Buddhist Constructions of the Body and Their South Asian Milieu
False Advertising Exposed: Horrific Figurations of the Feminine in Pali Hagiography
Lead Us Now into Temptation: Countering Samsaric Duplicity with Dharmic Deceptions
Seeing Through the Gendered "I": The Nun's Story
Conclusion
The Post-Asokan Milieu
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Charming Cadavers

Horrific Figurations of the Feminine in Indian Buddhist Hagiographic Literature

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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