Nirvana
Concept, Imagery, Narrative

An introduction to the Buddhist concept of nirvana, offering its own interpretations of key texts and translations for non-specialist readers.

Steven Collins (Author)

9780521708340, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 March 2010

204 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1 cm, 0.34 kg

'The book remains an indispensable addition to courses on Buddhism.' Natalie Gummer, Religious Studies Review

The idea of nirvana (Pali nibb?na) is alluring but elusive for non-specialists and specialists alike. Offering his own interpretation of key texts, Steven Collins explains the idea in a new, accessible way - as a concept, as an image (metaphor), and as an element in the process of narrating both linear and cyclical time. Exploring nirvana from literary and philosophical perspectives, he argues that it has a specific role: to provide 'the sense of an ending' in both the systematic and the narrative thought of the Pali imaginaire. Translations from a number of texts, including some dealing with past and future Buddhas, enable the reader to access source material directly. This book will be essential reading for students of Buddhism, but will also have much to teach anyone concerned with Asia and its religions, or indeed anyone with an interest in the ideas of eternal life or timelessness.

Introduction
1. Systematic and narrative thought: eternity and closure in structure and story
2. Nirvana as a concept
3. Nirvana as an image
4. Nirvana, time and narrative
5. Past and future Buddhas
Conclusion
Endnotes and bibliography.

Subject Areas: Buddhism [HRE], Religion: general [HRA], Non-Western philosophy [HPD], Asian history [HBJF]