Overview
What would a Buddhist theory of texts look like through the lens of the 5th-century thinker Buddhaghosa? In Voice of the Buddha, Maria Heim reads from the principal commentator, editor, and translator of the Theravada intellectual tradition, yielding fresh insight into all three collections of the early Pali texts: Vinaya, the Suttas, and the Abhidhamma. Buddhaghosa considered the Buddha to be omniscient, the Buddha's words to be ""oceanic."" Every word, passage, book--indeed the corpus as a whole--is taken to be ""endless and immeasurable"" in Buddhaghosa's view. Commentarial practice thus requires disciplined methods of expansion, drawing out the endless possibilities for meaning and application. Heim considers Buddhaghosa's theories of texts, and follows his practices of exegesis to discover how he explored scripture's infinity. By examining the significance of the immeasurability of scripture in commentarial practice and as a general principle, this book offers new tools to understand the huge scriptural and commentarial literature of the Pali tradition. And by taking seriously a traditional commentator's theory of texts, it beckons us to learn from commentaries themselves how we might read and interpret them and the texts on which they comment.
Full Product Details
Author: Maria Heim (Professor of Religion and Elizabeth W. Bruss Reader, Professor of Religion and Elizabeth W. Bruss Reader, Amherst College)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 16.00cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 23.60cm
Weight: 0.567kg
ISBN: 9780190906658
ISBN 10: 0190906650
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 08 November 2018
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
The broad contours and fine grain of Heim's book are equally admirable ... Heim's exquisite book would provide wonderful stimulation for ethical philosophers, scholars thinking about scriptural exegesis in other traditions, or those working on comparative reading practices -- Amy Paris Langenberg, Reading Religion This study will be of much interest to advanced scholars of Buddhism -- J. H. Sniegocki, CHOICE Voice of the Buddha is a superb book. There is no other work quite like it, and the discipline of Buddhist Studies needs more books of this sort - at once philologically careful and philosophically astute. -- Richard Nance, Associate Professor of South Asian Buddhism, Indiana University, Bloomington Buddhaghosa is unparalleled among Buddhist commentators because he teaches not only what a text means but also how to read that text; Maria Heim is unparalleled among Buddhaghosa scholars because she teaches us not only what Buddhaghosa said, but also how to read Buddhaghosa. This beautiful study illuminates Buddhist commentarial practice and Buddhaghosa's contribution to that practice, and is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Buddhist literature. --Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College, Harvard Divinity School By reading over the shoulder of the great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa, Maria Heim brings to light an ingenious and even astonishing understanding of the traditional Buddhist scriptural genres of Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma. This erudite and eloquent exposition of Buddhaghosa's profound and moving approach will appeal to all students of Buddhist scripture. --Jonathan C. Gold, Associate Professor of Religion, Princeton University
Voice of the Buddha is a superb book. There is no other work quite like it, and the discipline of Buddhist Studies needs more books of this sort - at once philologically careful and philosophically astute. -- Richard Nance, Associate Professor of South Asian Buddhism, Indiana University, Bloomington Buddhaghosa is unparalleled among Buddhist commentators because he teaches not only what a text means but also how to read that text; Maria Heim is unparalleled among Buddhaghosa scholars because she teaches us not only what Buddhaghosa said, but also how to read Buddhaghosa. This beautiful study illuminates Buddhist commentarial practice and Buddhaghosa's contribution to that practice, and is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Buddhist literature. --Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College, Harvard Divinity School By reading over the shoulder of the great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa, Maria Heim brings to light an ingenious and even astonishing understanding of the traditional Buddhist scriptural genres of Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma. This erudite and eloquent exposition of Buddhaghosa's profound and moving approach will appeal to all students of Buddhist scripture. --Jonathan C. Gold, Associate Professor of Religion, Princeton University
By reading over the shoulder of the great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa, Maria Heim brings to light an ingenious and even astonishing understanding of the traditional Buddhist scriptural genres of Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma. This erudite and eloquent exposition of Buddhaghosa's profound and moving approach will appeal to all students of Buddhist scripture. * Jonathan C. Gold, Associate Professor of Religion, Princeton University * Buddhaghosa is unparalleled among Buddhist commentators because he teaches not only what a text means but also how to read that text; Maria Heim is unparalleled among Buddhaghosa scholars because she teaches us not only what Buddhaghosa said, but also how to read Buddhaghosa. This beautiful study illuminates Buddhist commentarial practice and Buddhaghosa's contribution to that practice, and is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Buddhist literature. * Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College, Harvard Divinity School * Voice of the Buddha is a superb book. There is no other work quite like it, and the discipline of Buddhist Studies needs more books of this sortat once philologically careful and philosophically astute. * Richard Nance, Associate Professor of South Asian Buddhism, Indiana University, Bloomington *
""Heim's skillful writing makes the highly technical subject of commentarial studies very accessible and a pleasure to read."" -- Upali Sraman, Philosophy East & West ""Primary text Pali excerpts in the footnotes are useful for students and scholars of Pali. This book would be an excellent read for an advanced undergraduate or graduate seminar on Buddhism and its textual traditions. Heim's work is a significant contribution to the study of Buddhaghosa as well as ancient South Asian and early Buddhist Studies scholarship more broadly."" -- Andrew Dade, University of Toronto, Religious Studies Review ""The broad contours and fine grain of Heim's book are equally admirable ... Heim's exquisite book would provide wonderful stimulation for ethical philosophers, scholars thinking about scriptural exegesis in other traditions, or those working on comparative reading practices"" -- Amy Paris Langenberg, Reading Religion ""This study will be of much interest to advanced scholars of Buddhism"" -- J. H. Sniegocki, CHOICE ""Voice of the Buddha is a superb book. There is no other work quite like it, and the discipline of Buddhist Studies needs more books of this sort - at once philologically careful and philosophically astute."" -- Richard Nance, Associate Professor of South Asian Buddhism, Indiana University, Bloomington ""Buddhaghosa is unparalleled among Buddhist commentators because he teaches not only what a text means but also how to read that text; Maria Heim is unparalleled among Buddhaghosa scholars because she teaches us not only what Buddhaghosa said, but also how to read Buddhaghosa. This beautiful study illuminates Buddhist commentarial practice and Buddhaghosa's contribution to that practice, and is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Buddhist literature."" --Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College, Harvard Divinity School ""By reading over the shoulder of the great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa, Maria Heim brings to light an ingenious and even astonishing understanding of the traditional Buddhist scriptural genres of Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma. This erudite and eloquent exposition of Buddhaghosa's profound and moving approach will appeal to all students of Buddhist scripture."" --Jonathan C. Gold, Associate Professor of Religion, Princeton University
Author Information
Maria Heim is Professor of Religion and Elizabeth W. Bruss Reader at Amherst College. She is the author of The Forerunner of All Things and Theories of the Gift in South Asia.
