Metaphor and Pedagogy in Early Buddhist Literature: An Edition and Study of Two Sutras from the Senior Collection of Gandhari Manuscripts

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    • Availability:
      ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
    • Peer Reviewed:
      N
    • Source:
      286
    • Subject Terms:
      Buddhism; Literature; Teaching Methods; Figurative Language; Comparative Analysis; Chinese; Classical Languages; Indo European Languages; Literary Devices; Role; Phonology; Morphology (Languages); Contrastive Linguistics; Rhetoric; Imagery; Imagination; Audiences; Religious Education
    • Abstract:
      This dissertation examines the role of metaphorical language in early Buddhist literature through the lens of two previously unpublished Gandhari sutras on a manuscript from the Robert Senior Collection. At the microscopic level, I offer an edition, translation, and textual analysis of a Buddhist manuscript containing two Sa?yuktagama-type sutras written in the Gandhari language and Kharo??hi script. I study the writing and language of the manuscript in sections on paleography, orthography, phonology, and morphology. I then offer extensive text notes making sense of the sutras and comparing them with parallel texts in Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese. At the telescopic level, I study the pedagogical and rhetorical functions of metaphorical language, broadly conceived, in early Buddhist literature, particularly through the lens of two evocative similes that are the central motifs of the Gandhari sutras under consideration. The first simile compares a well-defended fortress to a mindful practitioner, while the second compares bodies of people born in hell to a red-hot iron ball. Additionally, I examine a metaphor that compares hell, and also existence in sa?sara, to a "great conflagration." Through this analysis, I show that the Gandhari similes and metaphor allude to wide-reaching networks of imagery found throughout early Buddhist literature that enhance our interpretation of the Gandhari sutras. Moreover, they illustrate a common didactic strategy, a kind of "pedagogy of metaphor," that was used to engage the imaginations of traditional audiences and convey complex Buddhist teachings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2017
    • Accession Number:
      ED578098