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Article: Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Journal of the American Oriental Society
- Article date:
- October 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 American Oriental Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand. By DONALD K. SWEARER. Princeton: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2004. Pp. xvi + 332, figs. $35.
This book is about how Buddha images are made, how they are used, how they are considered, and how they are theorized. The title "Becoming the Buddha" refers to how the physical object that is a Buddha image becomes the Buddha in order to be worshiped. The focus is on the ritual that produces this transformation, a ritual called the buddhabhiseka that "hypostasizes the Buddha in an image." While the consecration rituals in Thailand are emphasized, Swearer demonstrates broad knowledge of Buddhist traditions ...