RT Book
T1 Of beggars and Buddhas: the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand
T2 New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies
A1 Bowie, Katherine Ann
LA English
PP Madison, Wisconsin
PB The University of Wisconsin Press
YR 2017
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/881819441
AB The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years. The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth
NO Includes bibliographical references and index. - Print version record
CN BQ1470.V487
SN 9780299309534
SN 0299309533
K1 Tipiṭaka : Tipiṭaka
K1 Tipiṭaka : Suttapiṭaka : Khuddakanikāya : Jātaka : Vessantarajātaka
K1 Tipiṭaka
K1 Buddhism and state : History : Thailand
K1 Buddhism and politics : History : Thailand
K1 Buddhist stories, Thai : Humor
K1 Jataka stories, Thai : Humor
K1 Buddhist stories, Thai : Political aspects
K1 Jataka stories, Thai : Political aspects : Thailand
K1 Buddhism and politics : Thailand : History
K1 Jataka stories, Thai : Political aspects
K1 Buddhism and state : Thailand : History
K1 Buddhist giving
K1 RELIGION ; Comparative Religion
K1 Buddhism and politics
K1 Buddhism and state
K1 Buddhist stories, Thai
K1 Jataka stories, Thai
K1 History
K1 Humor
K1 Thailand
K1 Electronic books : History : Humor