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Synopsis
Unfortunate Destiny focuses on the roles played by nonhuman animals within the imaginative thought-world of Indian Buddhism, as reflected in pre-modern South Asian Buddhist literature. These roles are multifaceted, diverse, and often contradictory: In Buddhist doctrine and cosmology, the animal rebirth is a most "unfortunate destiny" (durgati), won through negative karma and characterized by a lack of intelligence, moral agency, and spiritual
potential. In stories about the Buddha's previous lives, on the other hand, we find highly anthropomorphized animals who are wise, virtuous, endowed with human speech, and often critical of the moral shortcomings of humankind. In the life-story of the Buddha, certain animal characters serve as "doubles" of the Buddha,
illuminating his nature through identification, contrast or parallelism with an animal "other." Relations between human beings and animals likewise range all the way from support, friendship, and near-equality to rampant exploitation, cruelty, and abuse. Perhaps the only commonality among these various strands of thought is a persistent impulse to use animals to clarify the nature of humanity itself-whether through similarity, contrast, or counterpoint. Buddhism is a profoundly human-centered
religious tradition, yet it relies upon a dexterous use of the animal other to help clarify the human self. This book seeks to make sense of this process through a wide-ranging-exploration of animal imagery, animal discourse, and specific animal characters in South Asian Buddhist texts. New & Used
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What Reviewers Are Saying
With its broadly framed arguments and well-considered approach to the Buddhist representation of animals, this book would make a superb addition to undergraduate courses in the religious traditions of South Asia or in world religions - particularly those that seek to inspire significant discussion. * Herman Tull, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA., Religions of South Asia * Ohnuma is a clear and evocative writer, who always keeps her audience in mind and brings the multi layered symbolism of animals in early Buddhist literature alive. This book would be suitable to use in an undergraduate class on Buddhism and is also an important contribution for scholars of Buddhism, religious studies, or Indian literature. * Brooke Schedneck, Religious Studies Review * [A] highly valuable and often revealing interpretation of the depiction of animals in early Buddhism, one that is of interest not only to Buddhist Studies, but certainly offers important insights for the broader audience of current Animals Studies. * Jens Schlieter, Religion * In Unfortunate Destiny: Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination, Reiko Ohnuma has succeeded in writing a readable, lively, entertaining, and outstandingly scholarly study. I was grateful for both her wit and lively turn of phrase and the depth of the analysis at hand. It is a work that will be central to any discussion of animals and animality in Buddhist studies for years to come. It will also clearly be of interest in religious studies and related
disciplines whenever there is a discussion of religion and our nonhuman friends. * Paul Fuller, JAAR * Reiko Ohnuma's marvelous new book... shows us the complexity of early Buddhists' feelings about animals, feelings that are shaped by both spiritual aspiration and moral ambivalence. * Roger Jackson, Buddhadharma *
disciplines whenever there is a discussion of religion and our nonhuman friends. * Paul Fuller, JAAR * Reiko Ohnuma's marvelous new book... shows us the complexity of early Buddhists' feelings about animals, feelings that are shaped by both spiritual aspiration and moral ambivalence.