- New Arrivals
Fiction- Historical FictionCrime & ThrillersMysteryScience-FictionFantasyPoetryRomanceChildren’s BooksYoung Adult
- Biographies & MemoirsHistoryCurrent AffairsTech & ScienceBusinessSelf-DevelopmentTravelThe ArtsFood & WineReligion & SpiritualitySportsHumor
Children’s BooksListsBlogGift CardsMy ListsGames- About & Help
- About Tertulia
- Membership & Co-Ownership
- Shipping & Delivery
- Orders & Payments
- Contact Support
- Send App Feedback
- Follow us
- Download the app
The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Illuminating the Life of the Buddha: An Illustrated Chanting Book from Eighteenth-Century Siam
Illuminating the Life of the Buddha investigates an outstanding eighteenth-century samut khoi, a type of beautifully illustrated, folded book found in Southeast Asia and popular as a repository for the Buddha's teachings. Written in Pali and produced in Siam, the samut khoi features finely executed paintings on khoi paper portraying key stories from the Buddha's past lives. These stories, known as the Jatakas, were the principal means by which Buddhist teachings were communicated and were thus a favored theme for samut khoi. However, this samut khoi stands out for its extensive series of paintings from the last life of the Buddha, including his final awakening and teaching, which are distinctive to the region. Affording readers immense insight into a spectacular eighteenth-century manuscript, and Thai Buddhist manuscripts and temple culture as a whole, this book will be of great interest to art historians and scholars of Buddhism and Southeast Asia.
Book Details
- Publisher: Bodleian Library
- Publish Date: Aug 15th, 2013
- Pages: 160
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 7.80in - 10.60in - 0.50in - 1.98lb
- EAN: 9781851242832
- Categories: • Buddhism - General (see also Philosophy - Buddhist)• Subjects & Themes - Religious
About the Author
Appleton, Naomi: - Naomi Appleton is a chancellor's fellow in religious studies at the University of Edinburgh and the author of Jataka Stories in Theravada Buddhism.
Shaw, Sarah: - Sarah Shaw is a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies and Wolfson College, University of Oxford; an honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies; and the author of several books, including The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisattva.
Unebe, Toshiya: - Toshiya Unebe is associate professor in the Department of Indian Studies at Nagoya University, Japan.
Praise for this book
"Throughout this interesting and beautifully illustrated volume, we are given a strong sense of the way in which this exceptionally beautiful eighteenth-century manuscript fits into not only the history but also the lived reality of contemporary Buddhist life."-- "Journal of Contemporary Religion" (9/15/2014 12:00:00 AM)
"An absolute essential resource. . . . The best resource for the study of pre-modern Siamese Buddhist art and literature to come out in over a decade, and one of the most significant publications in the history of Thai Buddhism."-- "Buddhist Studies Review" (6/25/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"Richly illustrated, . . . [Illuminating the Life of the Buddha] gives a good idea of what stories and themes have been considered important in popular tradition. . . . A suitable introduction to the illustrative traditions of late eighteenth century Thailand, and by extension. much of southern Buddhism."-- "Buddhist Art News" (6/25/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"Illuminating the Life of the Buddha is not only a descriptive book on a Siamese manuscript of the Eighteenth-century, but also a genuine homage to the culture, art, and the religious afflatus that created it. This work is undoubtedly one of the most important recent contributions to the study of Southeast Asian Buddhism and Thai narrative art.'-- "Nagoya Studies in Indian Culture and Buddhism" (2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM)