Breaking the circle : death and the afterlife in Buddhism /

Breaking the circle : death and the afterlife in Buddhism /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Becker, Carl B., 1951-
Imprint:	Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, ©1993.
Description:	1 online resource (x, 194 pages)
Language:	English
Subject:	Future life -- Buddhism. Death -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism. Death -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism. Future life -- Buddhism. Electronic books.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11108952

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	0585039496 9780585039497 0809318458 0809319322 9780809318452 9780809319329
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-185) and index. Restrictions unspecified Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2011. Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 digitized 2011 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve Print version record.
Summary:	"In this much-needed examination of Buddhist views of death and the afterlife, Carl B. Becker bridges the gap between books on death in the West and books on Buddhism in the East. Other Western writers have dealt with the mysteries surrounding death and the afterlife, but none have approached the topic from a Buddhist perspective. Here, Becker addresses questions that have troubled scholars since the beginning of Buddhism: How can Buddhism reconcile its belief in karma and rebirth with its denial of a permanent soul? What is reborn? And when, exactly, is the moment of death?"--BOOK JACKET. "By systematically tracing Buddhism's migration from India through China, Japan, and Tibet, Becker demonstrates how culture and environment have affected Buddhist religious tradition. For example, the Chinese changed the Buddhist emphasis from cyclical rebirth to a single rebirth in a heavenly realm. The strength of Japanese traditions of this-worldliness, family life, and seafood also came to replace the Buddhist concerns for asceticism, celibacy, and vegetarianism."--BOOK JACKET. "Becker uses metaphors and examples to illuminate obscure ideas. In defense of the reincarnation hypothesis, for instance, he cites the example of an Indian girl who remembered things that could only have been known by an old man she claimed to have been in a previous existence. She also exhibited language and other skills possessed by the old man that she had not acquired in her present lifetime."--BOOK JACKET. "In addition to discussing historical Buddhism, Becker shows how Buddhism solves controversial current issues as well. In the face of modern medicine's trend toward depersonalization, traditional Buddhist practices imbue the dying process with respect and dignity. At the same time, Buddhist tradition offers documented precedents for decision making in cases of suicide and euthanasia."--BOOK JACKET. "Translations of sacred terms accompany Becker's clear presentations of complicated Buddhist concepts. His exhaustive bibliography includes classical Buddhist texts and works by leading Buddhist scholars, both Eastern and Western."--BOOK JACKET.
Other form:	Print version: Becker, Carl B., 1951- Breaking the circle. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, ©1993 0809318458

Description
Summary:	In this much-needed examination of Buddhist views of death and the afterlife, Carl B. Becker bridges the gap between books on death in the West and books on Buddhism in the East. Other Western writers have addressed the mysteries surrounding death and the afterlife, but few have approached the topic from a Buddhist perspective. Here, Becker resolves questions that have troubled scholars since the beginning of Buddhism: How can Buddhism reconcile its belief in karma and rebirth with its denial of a permanent soul? What is reborn? And when, exactly, is the moment of death? By systematically tracing Buddhism's migration from India through China, Japan, and Tibet, Becker demonstrates how culture and environment affect Buddhist religious tradition. In addition to discussing historical Buddhism, Becker shows how Buddhism resolves controversial current issues as well. In the face of modern medicine's trend toward depersonalization, traditional Buddhist practices imbue the dying process with respect and dignity. At the same time, Buddhist tradition offers documented precedents for decision making in cases of suicide and euthanasia.
Physical Description:	1 online resource (x, 194 pages)
Format:	Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-185) and index.
ISBN:	0585039496 9780585039497 0809318458 0809319322 9780809318452 9780809319329