Dharma

Book Summary

This introductory work proposes a fresh take on dharma by shifting the customary focus from dharma as law to dharma in narrative and offers insights into the innovative character of both Hindu and Buddhist usages of the concept. An original approach to early Buddhist usages explores the different ways the Three Baskets of the Buddhist canon brought out different meanings of dharma. This is followed by an unfolding of the hypothesis that most, if not all, of the Brahmanical law books flowered after the emperor Aśoka (304 BC - 232 BC), a Buddhist, made dharma the guiding principle of an entire realm and culture. A discussion built around the author's expertise on the Sanskrit epics shows how the narratives amplified the new Brahmanical norms and brought out the ethical dilemmas and spiritual teachings that arose from inquiry into dharma. A chapter on the Life of the Buddha considers the relation between dharma, moksa/nirvana, and bhakti (devotion), tying together a thread that runs through the entire book: that the Buddha presents dharma as a kind of civil discourse--a term that challenges people to think critically or at least more creatively about their ethical principles and the foundations of their own spiritual values. A closing chapter on dharma in the twenty-first century explores its new cachet in an era of globalization, its diasporic implications, its openings into American popular culture, some implications for women, and the questions it is still raising for modern India.

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