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Compassionate Trickster: The Buddha as a Literary Character in the Narratives of Early Indian Buddhism

Compassionate Trickster: The Buddha as a Literary Character in the Narratives of Early Indian... Throughout the narrative literature of early Indian Buddhism, we find the Buddha using tricks to help people along the path to awakening. These tricks, which involve both deceptions and illusions, enable those who experience them to put an end to defilements through unmistakable and often funny encounters with their own impermanent limitations. This article asks how such tricks relate to the Buddhas other activities as a compassionate teacher of the Dharma. By placing the Buddhas trickster-like qualities at the forefront of our investigation, we come to see the Buddha as an embodiment of the unconditioned, whose paradoxical status directly accounts for the transformations he works in others lives. The category of the trick, though not indigenous to Buddhism, highlights structural similarities underlying all the Buddhas actions, thus easing the tension that seems to exist between his role as a teacher of sober sermons and a performer of awesome miracles. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the American Academy of Religion Oxford University Press

Compassionate Trickster: The Buddha as a Literary Character in the Narratives of Early Indian Buddhism

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References (7)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissionsoup.com
Subject
ARTICLES
ISSN
0002-7189
eISSN
1477-4585
DOI
10.1093/jaarel/lfq061
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Throughout the narrative literature of early Indian Buddhism, we find the Buddha using tricks to help people along the path to awakening. These tricks, which involve both deceptions and illusions, enable those who experience them to put an end to defilements through unmistakable and often funny encounters with their own impermanent limitations. This article asks how such tricks relate to the Buddhas other activities as a compassionate teacher of the Dharma. By placing the Buddhas trickster-like qualities at the forefront of our investigation, we come to see the Buddha as an embodiment of the unconditioned, whose paradoxical status directly accounts for the transformations he works in others lives. The category of the trick, though not indigenous to Buddhism, highlights structural similarities underlying all the Buddhas actions, thus easing the tension that seems to exist between his role as a teacher of sober sermons and a performer of awesome miracles.

Journal

Journal of the American Academy of ReligionOxford University Press

Published: Mar 11, 2011

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