2. The Subtitle of the Journal: Buddhist Narrative Literature.
3. Author Affiliation: Cardiff University, UK.
關鍵詞
Buddhist narratives; space; time; Buddha biography; Xuanzang; Faxian; Prāgbodhi
摘要
This paper deals with the aspect of place (space) in Buddhist narratives. Starting from the observation that narrated time is often vaguely indicated in Buddhist narratives, but places and sites of the narrated events are quite specific—although frequently introduced in a stereotypical way (“Once the Buddha dwelled in Śrāvastī …” “Once when Brahmadatta was king in Vārāṇasī …”)—the question is asked why a place is so important for and in Buddhist narratives. Based on selected examples, the argument is made that it is the “blueprint” of “early” Buddhist biographical sources, with the Buddha acting/preaching at specific places, which made these places accessible spaces where merit could be gained through “contact” with soteriologically important events in the past.
目次
Abstract 1 Keywords 1 1. Introduction 1 2. Time and Space (Place) in Buddhist Narratives: General Observations 2 3. The Interrelation between “Narrative” and “Real” Places 5 4. Conclusions 8 Funding 9 Institutional Review Board Statement 9 Informed Consent Statement 9 Data Availability Statement 9 Conflicts of Interest 9 Notes 9 References 11
