Cover image for Mani, Buddha of light :  Buddhist elements in Manichaeism
Mani, Buddha of light : Buddhist elements in Manichaeism
Title:
Mani, Buddha of light : Buddhist elements in Manichaeism
Author:
Caudill, R. Paul.
ISBN:
9781303005824
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (58 p.).
General Note:
Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 51-05.
Adviser: Jamsheed K. Choksy.
Abstract:
Despite its distinct place as one of the world's great religious traditions, the religion propagated by the Iranian prophet Mani deliberately and vigorously adapted a variety of concepts from competing faiths to meet its own ends. Mani did not view himself as merely one prophet amongst many in the bustling marketplace of religions of the ancient world, nor did he disregard other faiths as simple fallacies eclipsed by a single truth. His approach was rather a synthesis of elements from the various traditions of the Iranian world and beyond, uniting them under a conception of a final consummation, of which he was the chief architect. Chief among the religions that had a major impact on Manichaeism was Buddhism. Many of the basic metaphysical tenets of Buddhism were well suited for a creative reimagining in support of Manichaeism's core values, and both Mani and his later followers (particularly those in eastern Central Asia and China) were undoubtedly influenced by them. Buddhist concepts and practices as varied as reincarnation and monasticism were incorporated into the Manichaean tradition, and Manichaean texts also bear the mark of Buddhist imagery and philosophy. This paper will elucidate the textual and doctrinal influence of Buddhism on Manichaeaism by examining a number of Manichaean texts in original source languages (Middle Persian and Parthian) and comparing them with aspects of Buddhist doctrine common in the wider Central Asian world during and after the time of Mani.
Local Note:
School code: 0093.
Electronic Access:
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Thesis Note:
Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2013.
Field 805:
npmlib ysh
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