BUDDHIST MONASTICISM IN EAST ASIA: PLACES OF PRACTICE . Edited by James A. Benn, Lori Meeks, and James Robson . Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism Series . New York : Routledge , 2010 . Pp . xiii + 232 ; illustrations. Cloth, $135.00; paper, $42.95 .
摘要
This volume does not attempt to present an overview of Buddhist monasticism in East Asia, but it does offer seven essays by established and emerging scholars dealing with understudied facets of monasticism in medieval China and Japan. As such, it is a valuable source of new research angles on Buddhist monasticism. As stated in Robson's helpful introduction, the chapters provide “ ‘perspectives’ on different facets of monasticism, and those perspectives work toward complexity, the acknowledgment of diversity, and the need for temporal and geographic specificity in discussions about monasticism.” Three chapters focus on China and four on Japan. Among the diverse topics examined are: ritual interactions between monks and laity concerned with merit and blessings (meals and precept‐bestowal); visual culture in the making of ritual space; monasteries as sacred sites; and “insider” narratives of monasteries and cats in Zen literature. This list provides a sense of the diversity in topics treated, which is a strength of this volume; the descriptive particularity of each chapter successfully gets beyond focus on the Vinaya and prescriptive accounts that have largely dominated studies of Buddhist monasticism. Scholars and graduate students interested in East Asian Buddhism will want to be familiar with this volume; it is a particularly valuable resource for anyone researching monasticism or facets of medieval East Asian Buddhism.
