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An opaque pun: tentative notes on Kāsyapaparivarta § 68

Various interpretations of Kāsyapaparivarta §?68 have been attempted in the Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda tradition. This passage, which consists in a simile likening a magician devoured by his own creation to a monk involved in meditation practice, appears prima facie absurd, insofar as the similarity...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Chen, Ruixuan (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 10 Dec 2018
In: Indo-Iranian journal
Year: 2018, Jahrgang: 61, Heft: 4, Pages: 369-395
ISSN:1572-8536
DOI:10.1163/15728536-06104005
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1163/15728536-06104005
Resolving-System: https://brill.com/view/journals/iij/61/4/article-p369_3.xml
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Verfasserangaben:Ruixuan Chen
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Various interpretations of Kāsyapaparivarta §?68 have been attempted in the Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda tradition. This passage, which consists in a simile likening a magician devoured by his own creation to a monk involved in meditation practice, appears prima facie absurd, insofar as the similarity between the tenor and the vehicle is not readily apparent. This article mainly consists of two parts: The first part examines the received interpretations of the simile and reconstructs their interrelationship from a historical perspective. The second part explores the literary dimension of the simile and argues that its ostensible absurdity is rooted in a pun which is visible only in Middle Indo-Aryan and seems to serve no purpose. Coming to terms with the opaque and pointless pun, this essay is aimed at a new interpretation of Kāsyapaparivarta §?68 and, it is hoped, a deeper understanding of the literary playfulness inherent in the making of the Kāsyapaparivarta as a so-called early Mahāyāna sūtra against the backdrop of the Sanskritization of Buddhist sūtra literature.
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1572-8536
DOI:10.1163/15728536-06104005

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