Receptacle of the Sacred: Illustrated Manuscripts and the Buddhist Book Cult in South Asia (South Asia Across the Disciplines)

In considering medieval illustrated Buddhist manuscripts as sacred objects of cultic innovation, __Receptacle of the Sacred__ explores how and why the South Asian Buddhist book-cult has survived for almost two millennia to the present. A book “manuscript” should be understood as a form of sacred space: a temple in microcosm, not only imbued with divine presence but also layered with the memories of many generations of users. Jinah Kim argues that illustrating a manuscript with Buddhist imagery not only empowered it as a three-dimensional sacred object, but also made it a suitable tool for the spiritual transformation of medieval Indian practitioners. Through a detailed historical analysis of Sanskrit colophons on patronage, production, and use of illustrated manuscripts, she suggests that while Buddhism’s disappearance in eastern India was a slow and gradual process, the Buddhist book-cult played an important role in sustaining its identity. In addition, by examining the physical traces left by later Nepalese users and the contemporary ritual use of the book in Nepal, Kim shows how human agency was critical in perpetuating and intensifying the potency of a manuscript as a sacred object throughout time.

In considering medieval illustrated Buddhist manuscripts as sacred objects of cultic innovation, Receptacle of the Sacred explores how and why the South Asian Buddhist book-cult has survived for almost two millennia to the present. A book "manuscript" should be understood as a form of sacred space: a temple in microcosm, not only imbued with divine presence but also layered with the memories of many generations of users. Jinah Kim argues that illustrating a manuscript with Buddhist imagery not only empowered it as a three-dimensional sacred object, but also made it a suitable tool for the spiritual transformation of medieval Indian practitioners. Through a detailed historical analysis of Sanskrit colophons on patronage, production, and use of illustrated manuscripts, she suggests that while Buddhism's disappearance in eastern India was a slow and gradual process, the Buddhist book-cult played an important role in sustaining its identity. In addition, by examining the physical traces left by later Nepalese users and the contemporary ritual use of the book in Nepal, Kim shows how human agency was critical in perpetuating and intensifying the potency of a manuscript as a sacred object throughout time.

In considering medieval illustrated Buddhist manuscripts as sacred objects of cultic innovation, this book explores how and why the South Asian Buddhist book-cult has survived for almost two millennia to the present. A book "manuscript" should be understood as a form of sacred space: a temple in microcosm, not only imbued with divine presence but also layered with the memories of many generations of users. The author argues that illustrating a manuscript with Buddhist imagery not only empowered it as a three-dimensional sacred object, but also made it a suitable tool for the spiritual transformation of practitioners Dedication Contents Acknowledgments List of Maps and Figures in the Printed Book List of Figures and Diagrams Online Introduction: Text, Image, and the Book Part One. The Book 1. Buddhist Books and Their Cultic Use 2. Innovations of the Medieval Buddhist Book Cult Part Two. Text and Image 3. Representing the Perfection of Wisdom, Embodying the Holy Sites 4. The Visual World of Buddhist Book Illustrations 5. Esoteric Buddhism and the Illustrated Manuscripts Part Three. The People 6. Social History of the Buddhist Book Cult Epilogue: Invoking a Goddess in a Book Notes Bibliography In considering medieval illustrated Buddhist manuscripts as sacred objects of cultic innovation, this book explores how and why South Asian Buddhist book-cult has survived for almost two millennia to present. It also shows how human agency was critical in perpetuating and intensifying the potency of a manuscript as a sacred object throughout time. Jinah Kim. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 351-366) And Index.