ABOUT THIS BOOK

Illuminating the Life of the Buddha investigates an outstanding eighteenth-century samut khoi, a type of beautifully illustrated, folded book found in Southeast Asia and popular as a repository for the Buddha’s teachings. Written in Pali and produced in Siam, the samut khoi features finely executed paintings on khoi paper portraying key stories from the Buddha’s past lives. These stories, known as the Jatakas, were the principal means by which Buddhist teachings were communicated and were thus a favored theme for samut khoi. However, this samut khoi stands out for its extensive series of paintings from the last life of the Buddha, including his final awakening and teaching, which are distinctive to the region.

Affording readers immense insight into a spectacular eighteenth-century manuscript, and Thai Buddhist manuscripts and temple culture as a whole, this book will be of great interest to art historians and scholars of Buddhism and Southeast Asia.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Naomi Appleton is a chancellor’s fellow in religious studies at the University of Edinburgh and the author of Jataka Stories in Theravada Buddhism.Sarah Shaw is a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies and Wolfson College, University of Oxford; an honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies; and the author of several books, including The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisattva. Toshiya Unebe is associate professor in the Department of Indian Studies at Nagoya University, Japan.

REVIEWS

"Illuminating the Life of the Buddha is not only a descriptive book on a Siamese manuscript of the Eighteenth-century, but also a genuine homage to the culture, art, and the religious afflatus that created it. This work is undoubtedly one of the most important recent contributions to the study of Southeast Asian Buddhism and Thai narrative art.'

— Nagoya Studies in Indian Culture and Buddhism

“Throughout this interesting and beautifully illustrated volume, we are given a strong sense of the way in which this exceptionally beautiful eighteenth-century manuscript fits into not only the history but also the lived reality of contemporary Buddhist life.”

— Journal of Contemporary Religion

“An absolute essential resource. . . . The best resource for the study of pre-modern Siamese Buddhist art and literature to come out in over a decade, and one of the most significant publications in the history of Thai Buddhism.”

— Buddhist Studies Review

"Richly illustrated, . . . [Illuminating the Life of the Buddha] gives a good idea of what stories and themes have been considered important in popular tradition. . . . A suitable introduction to the illustrative traditions of late eighteenth century Thailand, and by extension. much of southern Buddhism."

— Buddhist Art News

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Illustrated folios of the manuscript

Map of the manuscript

Preface

1 Introduction – Sarah Shaw

2 The past lives of the Buddha – Naomi Appleton

Siricudama?i-Jataka

Temiya-Jataka

Janaka-Jataka

Suva??asama-Jataka

Nemi-Jataka

Mahosadha-Jataka

Bhuridatta-Jataka

Candakumara-Jataka

Narada-Jataka

Vidhura-Jataka

Vessantara-Jataka

3 The final life of the Buddha – Toshiya Unebe

The birth of the Bodhisatta

The four signs

Leaving his family

The great departure

Cutting off the hair

The lesson of the three strings

The offering of milk-rice

The victory over Mara

The first sermon

The return to Kapilavatthu

The offering from elephant and monkey

Taming the elephant

The offering of a mango

The miracles at Savatthi

Teaching his mother in Tavati?sa Heaven

The descent from Tavati?sa Heaven

The cremation

The division of the relics

4 The lifestory of a manuscript – Sarah Shaw

Notes

Bibliography

Glossary of key terms and figures

Index