Communication and the arts; Asanta; India; Inscriptions; Mahayana; Sakyabhiksu
摘要
During the fifth and early sixth centuries of the Common Era, certain titles and formulaic expressions characteristic of Mahay ana Buddhism and even a few explicit references to the Mahayana by name appear in a significant number of Indian inscriptions. In addition, during this period clearly identifiable Mahayana elements begin to make a consistent appearance within Buddhist art and architecture at a considerable number of monastic sites across north and west India. This body of source material associated with Mahay ana Buddhism has, surprisingly, yet to be comprehensively collected and documented, let alone analyzed in any depth. This dissertation seeks to remedy this rather significant lacuna in the study of the history of Indian Buddhism by compiling substantial components of this epigraphic and art historical material in order to determine what information it might provide about the nature of Mahayana Buddhism as a social, religious and artistic movement.
