Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition"

H-Buddhism NEW BOOK> Geoffrey C. Goble "Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition"

Discussion published by Geoffrey Goble on Thursday, September 19, 2019

Dear Colleagues, my new book may be of interest to members of the H-Buddhism listserve:

Goble, Geoffrey C. 2019.Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press.

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism is generally held to have been established as a distinct and institutionalized Buddhist school in eighth-century China by “the Three Great Masters ofKaiyuan ”: Śubhākarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra. Geoffrey C. Goble provides an innovative account of the tradition’s emergence that sheds new light on the structures and traditions that shaped its institutionalization.

Goble focuses on Amoghavajra (704–774), contending that he was the central figure in Esoteric Buddhism’s rapid rise in Tang dynasty China, and the other two “patriarchs” are known primarily through Amoghavajra’s teachings and writings. He presents the scriptural, mythological, and practical aspects of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in the eighth century and places them in the historical contexts within which Amoghavajra operated. By telling the story of Amoghavajra’s rise to prominence and of Esoteric Buddhism’s corresponding institutionalization in China, Goble makes the case that the evolution of this tradition was predicated on Indic scriptures and practical norms rather than being the product of conscious adaptation to a Chinese cultural environment. He demonstrates that Esoteric Buddhism was employed by Chinese rulers to defeat military and political rivals. Based on close readings of a broad range of textual sources previously untapped by English-language scholarship, this book overturns many assumptions about the origins of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism.

The book’s official publication date is October 8, 2019 and is currently available for sale from the Coumbia University Press warehouse. Those in the United States, Canada, and most of Latin America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, will receive a 30% discount off the price of the book by using the promo code CUP30 when ordering directly from CUP. https://cup.columbia.edu/book/chinese-esoteric-buddhism/9780231194082

For customers in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, and South Africa, please contact our distributor John Wiley & Sons, to order a book and for information regarding price and shipping cost.

E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (1243) 843-291 Fax: (1243) 843-296

For customers in Australia and New Zealand, please contact Footprint Books to purchase books:

Citation: Geoffrey Goble. NEW BOOK> Geoffrey C. Goble "Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition". H-Buddhism. 09-19-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/4758168/new-book-geoffrey-c-goble-chinese-esoteric-buddhism-amoghavajra Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Buddhism http://www.footprint.com.au/