Lurching towards a canon

• Verfasst von: Chen, Ruixuan [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Lurching towards a canon
• Titelzusatz: Mahāyāna Sūtras in Khotanese garb
• Verf.angabe: Ruixuan Chen, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Jahr: 2021
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Entangled Religions
• Ort Quelle: Bochum : Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 2014
• Jahr Quelle: 2020
• Band/Heft Quelle: 11(2020,6) Absatz 1-24
• ISSN Quelle: 2363-6696
• DOI: doi:10.46586/er.11.2020.8774
• Schlagwörter: (g)Hotan / (s)Mahayana / (s)Buddhistische Literatur / (s)Kanon
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Central Asia
• Sach-SW: Mahāyāna Buddhism
• Sach-SW: authority
• Sach-SW: canon
• Sach-SW: canonization
• Sach-SW: tradent
• K10plus-PPN: 1772310603

Abstract

The concept of canon centers around authority. Assertions about canonicity both reflect and reshape the structure and the source of authority. In a Buddhist context, processes of canonization are highly fluid and complex, shedding light on the socio-religious landscapes of different Buddhist cultures. The present essay explores the complexities of canonization by focusing on a specific Buddhist culture on the ancient Silk Routes, where Mahāyāna sūtras, a collection of Buddhist literature of disputed authenticity in India, were accepted as scriptural and canonized in a remarkable manner. Through the lens of an indigenous Buddhist poem, the author argues that the reception and canonization of Mahāyāna sūtras give illuminating clues about a pivotal transition in the history of this Buddhist kingdom named Khotan, where both the removal and the bestowal of authority took place.