Buddhist Masculinities

Name: Buddhist Masculinities
Brand: Unknown
SKU: 9780231210478
Price: 66.99 NZD
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Summary

Buddhist Masculinities explores how ideals of masculinity have been constructed and embodied throughout Buddhist history and across cultures. The book examines the Buddha's portrayal as an exemplar of masculine traits, from his physical features to his role as a spiritual leader. It spans from early Indian contexts to contemporary settings in the United States, considering diverse figures such as bodhisattva-kings and martial monks. Using approaches from religious studies, anthropology, art history, and cultural studies, it analyses texts, images, films, and lived experiences to reveal how Buddhist masculinities have been shaped and reshaped over time, highlighting issues of gender identity, intersectionality, and sexual ethics.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$66⁹⁹

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Buddhist Masculinities

$66⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This work is well suited for scholars and students of religion, gender studies, anthropology, and Asian studies, as well as readers interested in Buddhism and contemporary discussions on gender identity and ethics.

This transdisciplinary book brings together essays that explore the variety and diversity of Buddhist masculinities, from early India to the contemporary United States, and from bodhisattva-kings to martial monks.

Description

While early Buddhists hailed their religion's founder for opening a path to enlightenment, they also exalted him as the paragon of masculinity. According to Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha's body boasts thirty-two physical features, including lionlike jaws, thighs like a royal stag, broad shoulders, and a deep, resonant voice, that distinguish him from ordinary men. As Buddhism spread throughout Asia and around the world, the Buddha remained an exemplary man, but Buddhists in other times and places developed their own understandings of what it meant to be masculine.

This transdisciplinary book brings together essays that explore the variety and diversity of Buddhist masculinities, from early India to the contemporary United States and from bodhisattva-kings to martial monks. Buddhist Masculinities adopts the methods of religious studies, anthropology, art history, textual-historical studies, and cultural studies to explore texts, images, films, media, and embodiments of masculinity across the Buddhist world, past and present.

It turns scholarly attention to normative forms of masculinity that usually go unmarked and unstudied precisely because they are "normal," illuminating the religious and cultural processes that construct Buddhist masculinities. Engaging with contemporary issues of gender identity, intersectionality, and sexual ethics, Buddhist Masculinities ushers in a new era for the study of Buddhism and gender.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its broad and critical examination of masculinity in the Buddhist tradition, this collection of essays has been called a must-read for those interested in Buddhism and gender studies. Experts from various fields shed light on the diverse and sometimes conflicting masculine ideals across Buddhist cultures, also addressing how these ideals have subordinated women. The book is noted for being theoretically sophisticated yet accessible, and for filling a significant gap by focusing on normative masculinities that often go unexamined.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780231210478

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 September 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Columbia University Press

Illustration: 25 b&w illustrations

Contributors:

Contributions by Ward Keeler
Edited by Megan Bryson
Edited by Kevin Buckelew
Contributions by Stephen C. Berkwitz
Contributions by Marcus Evans
Contributions by Amy Paris Langenberg
Contributions by Rebecca Mendelson
Contributions by Bee Scherer
Contributions by Joshua Brallier Shelton

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

Collections

Education & Reference Non-Fiction Religion & Spirituality

About the Author

Megan Bryson is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Kevin Buckelew is assistant professor of religious studies at Northwestern University.