Description
Book SynopsisComparing eighteenth-century Sri Lankan Buddhist monastic education to medieval Christian and other contexts, this book examines such issues as bilingual commentarial practice, the relationship between clerical and "popular" religious cultures, and the place of preaching in the constitution of "textual communities".
Trade Review"An impressive accomplishment... Blackburn's study of practices and texts associated with Buddhst education is an innovative work that recasts our understanding of religious change prior to the intensive colonization of Sri Lanka in the nineteenth century."--Stephen C. Berkwitz, The Journal of Religion
Table of ContentsAuthor's Note viii Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi Chapter One: "Destroying the Thick Darkness of Wrong Beliefs" 3 Chapter Two: Contextualizing Monasticism 23 Chapter Three: Marks of Distinction 41 Chapter Four: "They Were Scholars and Contemplatives" 76 Chapter Five: "He Benefited the World and the Sasana" 107 Chapter Six: Readers, Preachers, and Listeners 139 Chapter Seven: "Let Us Serve Wisdom" 197 Appendix A: Contents of the Monastic Handbook Attributed to Saranamkara 205 Apperndix B: Level Four Subject Area and Texts 209 Appendix C: Siyam Nikaya Temple Manuscript Collections 213 Appendix D: List of Manuscripts Brought from Siam in 1756 217 Glossary 219 References 223 Index 235
