Description:
"This article presents an apocryphal Buddhist text that contains a speech of
the Buddha listing the relics linked to his former existences in Arakan, as well
as prophecies regarding the historical succession of kings. Looking at various
aspects such as the geographical distribution of the relics and the typically
Buddhist representation of kingship, the author argues that the text can best
be understood in the eighteenth-century context of the political decline of
the Arakanese kingdom. As this article shows, apocryphal texts have authority
because they build on traditional concepts and beliefs and are still a poorlyexploited
source of historical enquiry."...
keywords: Arakanese Buddhism--history of Arakan--Buddhist relics--
apocryphal Buddhist texts--prophetical literature
Source/publisher:
"Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009, 333-364
Date of Publication:
2009-09-22
Date of entry:
2010-12-23
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English