The Red Thread
Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality
Published on 22. November 1998
Book
Hardback
324 pages
978-0-691-05998-3 (ISBN)
Description
In this study, Bernard Faure reveals Buddhism's paradoxical attitudes toward sexuality. His broad range covers the entire geography of this religion, and its long evolution from the time of its founder, Sakyamuni, to the premodern age. The anthropological approach uncovers the inherent discrepancies between the normative teachings of Buddhism and what its followers practice. Framing his discussion on some of the most prominent Western thinkers of sexuality - Georges Bataille and Michel Foucault - Faure draws from different reservoirs of writings, such as the orthodox and heterodox "doctrines" of Buddhism, and its monastic codes. Mythological as well as legal sources are also used. The dialectics inherent in Mahayana Buddhism, in particular in the Tantric and Chan/Zen traditions, seemed to allow for greater laxity and even encouraged breaking of taboos.
Reviews / Votes
Although many scholars strive to locate their research within the study of Chinese religions as a whole, and thus to incorporate perspectives, insights, and approaches derived from the fields of popular religious studies and poststructuralist anthropology, there is as yet only one scholar who has adopted this breadth of vision as the fundamental characteristic of his intellectual agenda. This is of course Bernard Faure. The Journal of Asian StudiesMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 197 mm
Weight
624 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-05998-3 (9780691059983)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/1998
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€233.95
Available for download
Person
Bernard Faure is Associate Professor of Religion at Stanford University. He is the author of The Rhetoric of Immediacy, Chan Insights and Oversights, and Visions of Power (all from Princeton University Press).
Content
Introduction The Two Roads Buddhist Sexualities Ch. 1 The Hermeneutics of Desire Protean Desire The Buddhist Economy of Desire Ascetic Lust The Trend Reversal The Ambivalent Body Ch. 2 Disciplining Sex, Sexualizing Discipline Law, Order, and Libido Sexual Offenses The Rise of Mahayana Precepts Ch. 3 The Ideology of Transgression The Rule of Antinomianism Crazy Cloud Transgression - Sublime or Sublimated? Ritual Infractions Feminine Transgression Ch. 4 Clerical Vices and Vicissitudes Monastic Decline and Anticlericalism The Demonic Priest The Juridical Background Nyobon Order or Freedom Ch. 5 Buddhist Homosexualities The New Sodom The Social and Cultural Context(s) The Quest for Origins Ch. 6 Boys to Men The Literary Tradition of the Chigo The "Divine Child" Mystique Head or Tail Afterthoughts Glossary Bibliography Index