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Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How, then, to account for the long-standing veneration, in Asian Buddhist communities, of bone fragments, hair, teeth, and other bodily bits said to come from the historic Buddha? Early European and American scholars of religion, influenced by a characteristic Protestant bias against relic worship, declared such practices to be superstitious and fraudulent, and far from the true essence of Buddhism. John Strong's book, by contrast, argues that relic veneration has played a serious and integral role in Buddhist traditions in South and Southeast Asia-and that it is in no way foreign to Buddhism. The book is structure...
This book is a serious study of relic veneration among South Asian Buddhists. Drawing on textual sources and archaeological evidence from India and Sri Lanka, including material rarely examined in the West, it looks specifically at the practice of relic veneration in the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist tradition. The author portrays relic veneration as a technology of remembrance and representation which makes present the Buddha of the past for living Buddhists. By analysing the abstract ideas, emotional orientation and ritual behaviour centred on the Buddha's material remains, he contributes to the 'rematerializing' of Buddhism which is currently under way among Western scholars. This book is an excellent introduction to Buddhist relics. It is well written and accessible and will be read by scholars and serious students of Buddhism and religious studies for years to come.
Although objects associated with the Passion and suffering of Christ are among the most important and sacred relics venerated by the Catholic Church, this is the first study that considers how they were presented to the faithful. Cynthia Hahn adopts an accessible, informative, and holistic approach to the important history of Passion relics—first the True Cross, and then the collective group of Passion relics—examining their display in reliquaries, their presentation in church environments, their purposeful collection as centerpieces in royal and imperial collections, and finally their veneration in pictorial form as Arma Christi. Tracing the ways that Passion relics appear and disappear in response to Christian devotion and to historical phenomena, ranging from pilgrimage and the Crusades to the promotion of imperial power, this groundbreaking investigation presents a compelling picture of a very important aspect of late medieval and early modern devotion.
Relics of previous Buddhas -- Relics of the Bodhisattva -- Relics of the still-living Buddha : hairs and footprints -- The Parinirvāṇa of the Buddha -- Aśoka and the Buddha relics -- Predestined relics : the extension of the Buddha's life story in some Sri Lankan traditions -- Further extensions of the Buddha's life story : some tooth relic traditions -- Relics and eschatology.
A piece of Plymouth Rock. A lock of George Washington’s hair. Wood from the cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born. Various bits and pieces of the past—often called “association items”—may appear to be eccentric odds and ends, but they are valued because of their connections to prominent people and events in American history. Kept in museum collections large and small across the United States, such objects are the touchstones of our popular engagement with history. In Sacred Relics, Teresa Barnett explores the history of private collections of items like these, illuminating how Americans view the past. She traces the relic-collecting tradition back to eighteenth-century England, then on to articles belonging to the founding fathers and through the mass collecting of artifacts that followed the Civil War. Ultimately, Barnett shows how we can trace our own historical collecting from the nineteenth century’s assemblages of the material possessions of great men and women.
A finger, a lock of hair, a crucifix, a chalice—if such items belonged to a saint, they are considered to be relics and as such are venerated by the Catholic Church. Anyone who thinks that relics are remnants of the Middle Ages should log on to eBay. On any day of the week the online shopper will find a thriving business in the sale of these items, ranging from the dust from the tomb of Christ to splinters of the True Cross to bone fragments of countless holy men and women. In Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics, author Thomas J. Craughwell takes us on an exhilarating journey through the life and death of more than three hundred saints and along the way enlightens us about the some...
John Dillenberger has written the first comprehensive account of the relation between the visual arts and theological currents in Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century. With an astute knowledge of the theology of the period and a keen interest in the lives and work of prominent artists, Dillenberger makes incisive connections that illuminate the cultural movements of the time. Images and Relics considers both popular and professional art within distinct religious contexts. It examines the works of Matthias Grunewald, Albrecht Durer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Michelangelo, Hans Holbein the Younger, Hans Baldung Grien, and Albrecht Altdorfer, and demonstrates how these artists expressed and transformed the reigning theological ideas of their day. The book also addresses the range of iconoclastic movements from the 1520s to the 1570s, particularly in northern Europe. Finally, Dillenberger reflects on the ambiguity of the history of this period and its continuing impact on modern-day life.
Christians have often admired and venerated the martyrs who died for their faith, but for a long time thought that the bodies of martyrs should remain undisturbed in their graves. Initially, the Christian attitude towards the bones of the dead, saint or not, was that of respectful distance. The Beginnings of the Cult of Relics examines how this attitude changed in the mid-fourth century. Robert Wiśniewski investigates how Christians began to believe in the power of relics, first over demons, then over physical diseases and enemies. He considers how the faithful sought to reveal hidden knowledge at the tombs of saints and why they buried the dead close to them. An essential element of this n...
To find the truth, one must first uncover the lies... When a Catholic priest hangs himself at the Pope’s inauguration in St. Peter’s Square, his friend, Professor Alex Harker, is dragged into a secret war. The suicide sets into motion a timetable of terrifying events that will irrevocably change the world as we know it. With the clock ticking, pursued by a deadly assassin, Harker must track down and decipher pieces of a puzzle laid down by the dead priest. Harker finds himself in an epic battle – one that has been playing out on the fringes of society since the birth of Christ. It threatens to reveal a truth so shocking that it could enslave and transform mankind's destiny forever. A rip-roaring crypto-thriller fuller of twists and action, perfect for readers of Dan Brown, Scott Mariani and Chris Kuzneski.