Building on his ground-breaking The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal, with the present monograph Bhikkhu Anālayo approaches a closely related topic from the perspective of the bodily dimension as evident in the thirty-two marks with which, according to tradition, the Buddha was endowed. The study begins by proposing that a cross-fertilization between text and art has influenced the conception of one of these marks, namely the wheel-marks on the soles of the Buddha’s feet. By way of a comparative study of the early discourses, Anālayo proceeds to show how the thirty-two marks – initially nearly imperceptible features – came to be more clearly visible and acquired salvific power. Eventually, he argues, these turned into a psychosomatic chart for the bodhisattva path and thereby set a precedent for the prediction (commonplace in later Buddhist doctrine) that assures an aspiring bodhisattva of becoming a Buddha in the future.
目次
List of Figures 7 Foreword 9 Introduction 11
1 Seeing the Footprint 15 1.1 Introduction 15 1.2 Translation 17 1.3 The Nature of an Awakened One 20 1.4 The Different Footprints 23 1.5 Problems with Marks on the Footprint 27 1.6 The Thousand Spokes 30 1.7 The Wheel 36 1.8 Summary 41
2 A Vision of the Thirty-two Marks 43 2.1 Introduction 43 2.2 Translation 44 2.3 The Webbed Feet and the Protuberance 51 2.4 The Buddha's Footprints on the Stairs from Heaven 55 2.5 The Buddha’s General Appearance 57 2.6 The Significance of the Thirty-two Marks 61 2.7 The Thirty-two Marks as Brahminical Lore 63 2.8 Summary 68
3 The Great Lineage of Buddhas 71 3.1 Introduction 71 3.2 Translation 75 3.3 Visual Elements in the Description of Vipaśyin 84 3.4 The Marks and dharmatā 87 3.5 The Birth of a Buddha 89 3.6 Seeing the Marks as a Means of Conversion 94 3.7 Seeing the Marks as a Means of Healing 100 3.8 Summary 101
4 The Karma of the Wheel-mark 103 4.1 Introduction 103 4.2 Translation 105 4.3 Assessing the Lakkhaṇa-sutta 106 4.4 Introducing the Karmic Perspective 110 4.5 The Marks in Their Karmic Setting 113 4.6 Aspiring to Be Endowed with the Marks 122 4.7 The Marks and Masculinity 128 4.8 Summary 134
Conclusion 137 Abbreviations 141 References 143 Index 171
