Research Catalog

Title

An archaeological history of Indian Buddhism / Lars Fogelin.

Author

Fogelin, Lars

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 250 pages : illustrations, maps; 25 cm

Summary

• "An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism is a comprehensive survey of Indian Buddhism from its origins in the 6th century BCE, through its ascendance in the 1st millennium CE, and its eventual decline in mainland South Asia by the mid-2nd millennium CE. Weaving together studies of archaeological remains, architecture, iconography, inscriptions, and Buddhist historical sources, this book uncovers the quotidian concerns and practices of Buddhist monks and nuns (the sangha), and their lay adherents--concerns and practices often obscured in studies of Buddhism premised largely, if not exclusively, on Buddhist texts. At the heart of Indian Buddhism lies a persistent social contradiction between the desire for individual asceticism versus the need to maintain a coherent community of Buddhists. Before the early 1st millennium CE, the sangha relied heavily on the patronage of kings, guilds, and ordinary Buddhists to support themselves. During this period, the sangha emphasized the communal elements of Buddhism as they sought to establish themselves as the leaders of a coherent religious order. By the mid-1st millennium CE, Buddhist monasteries had become powerful political and economic institutions with extensive landholdings and wealth. This new economic self-sufficiency allowed the sangha to limit their day-to-day interaction with the laity and begin to more fully satisfy their ascetic desires for the first time. This withdrawal from regular interaction with the laity led to the collapse of Buddhism in India in the early-to-mid 2nd millennium CE. In contrast to the ever-changing religious practices of the Buddhist sangha, the Buddhist laity were more conservative--maintaining their religious practices for almost two millennia, even as they nominally shifted their allegiances to rival religious orders. This book also serves as an exemplar for the archaeological study of long-term religious change through the perspectives of practice theory, materiality, and semiotics"--
• ""Examines Indian Buddhism from its origins in c. 500 BCE, through its ascendance in the first millennium CE and subsequent decline in mainland South Asia by c. 1400 CE"--Provided by publisher"--

Subjects

• Buddhism
• Buddhist antiquities
• India
• Archäologie
• Buddhist antiquities > India
• RELIGION > Buddhism > History
• Buddhismus
• History
• Buddhism > India > History

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Introduction -- The Material of Religion -- From the Buddha to Ashoka: c. 600-200 BCE -- The Sangha and the Laity: c. 200 BCE-200 CE -- The Beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha Images, and Monastic Isolation: c. 100-600 CE -- Lay Buddhism and Religious Syncretism in the First Millennium CE -- The Consolidation and Collapse of Monastic Buddhism: c. 600-1400 CE -- Conclusion -- Bibliography.

Call Number

JFE 16-1379

ISBN

• 9780199948239
• 0199948232
• 9780199948215
• 0199948216
• 9780190234157 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2014031922
• 40024839705
• 9780199948239

OCLC

899229568

Author

Fogelin, Lars, author.

Title

An archaeological history of Indian Buddhism / Lars Fogelin.

Publisher

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Standard Identifier

40024839705

9780199948239

Research Call Number

JFE 16-1379