No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [162]-172).

While studying narratives in the context of its own religious tradition may uncover that religious tradition's doctrines and priorities, this study assumes that a comparative model contributes to a clearer understanding of the uniqueness of each religion's ideas. By comparing religions rather than studying them in isolation, we may understand each with greater clarity. / The narratives compared and contrasted in this study are the birth narratives of Moses and the Buddha. These two figures may be identified as the respective heroes of the Jewish and Buddhist religions. This comparative study highlights and examines the similarities and differences presented in their birth narratives and seeks to determine the significance these narratives have from within the context of their respective doctrinal traditions. Although studying one tradition alone produces important results, it is only by comparing and contrasting religious traditions, and in this case the birth narratives of different religious traditions, that the uniqueness and qualities of each come into full view. / This study begins with an examination of Moses' birth narrative, first as it has been understood by modern scholarship, and then as it has been presented in the classical literature of early Judaism. In the second part, the Buddha's birth narrative is explored, first from the perspective of modern, Western scholarship, and then as it appears in the Pali and Sanskrit literature of early Buddhism. The third part of this study is committed to a comparative analysis of the two birth narratives.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Australian National University, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 3, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 294-307).

This dissertation is a comparative, interdisciplinary, and transregional study of the connections between textual and iconographic representations of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s extended biography, and a re-assessment of its role and significance for the spread of Buddhism from India through Central Asia to China between the third century BCE to around the sixth century CE. My research relies on diverse sources: early Buddhist canonical sources; the earliest textual versions of the Buddha’s life stories in Chinese, Sanskrit, and Pali; art historical and archaeological material remains from early stupa sites and cave temples in India, Central Asia, and China; and also other visual material such as Buddha images, stelae, votive stupas, portable shrines, etc. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, I propose a new interpretative framework to re-evaluate the connections between the Buddha’s life stories and his body. In this dissertation, I suggest a new approach to “reading” the Buddha’s extended biography, which I posit is not merely a story of his life, but essentially is a story of his body. With that thesis in mind, I also shed new light on the role and function of the Buddha’s biography in the production and use of images, proposing a new hypothesis to re-examine the design and construction of early stupa sites and cave temples. This study suggests a common iconographical programme that lasted for several centuries and demonstrates how this programme connects to the story of the Buddha and his body.

No description available.

No description available.

Univ., Diss.--Detroit. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-358) and index. Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph.D.--University of Michigan).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed 28 March 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the Dept. of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.