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Reviewed by:
  • Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand
  • Nicola Tannenbaum
Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand. By Donald K. Swearer. Princeton University Press, 2004. 332 pages. $35.00.

In Becoming the Buddha, Swearer explores the relationship between Buddha images and the Buddha himself and the ways in which this relationship is established. In particular, he examines how this occurs in Northern Thailand through [End Page 503] the analyses of ceremonies and texts associated with Buddha image consecration. Swearer argues that the ceremonies reenact the Buddha's life story, and through this reenactment, images are imbued with the Buddha's teachings and the image becomes the Buddha. The local Northern Thai practices are placed within the larger Buddhist context, with comparison to image consecration ceremonies in Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, and China.

Swearer begins his analysis with a discussion of the Buddha image-making tradition and argues, along with other scholars, that images are not a later accretion to Buddhist practice. With this as background, he then describes the Northern Thai temple complex and the location of Buddha images within it. He then discusses and translates three texts: the first on how to construct a Buddha image, the second on the merit and blessings that are derived from doing so, and the third, the yantra, "a diagram of magical letters" (301) that are placed within the image. This is the first translation of yantra that I know of. The structure of the volume is set in this first section where Swearer discusses the literature, Northern Thai practices, and translates texts relevant to the topic.

The second part describes the rituals associated with opening the eyes of the image and imbuing the image with the knowledge of the Buddha's teachings, and the actual empowerment of the image. This section provides the evidence for Swearer's argument that there is an identity relationship between the Buddha and the images of the Buddha. The texts he analyzes and translates and his discussion of the meditation practices that help imbue the image with the teachings of the Buddha make a compelling argument that these Buddha images are both a representative of and a container for Buddha's knowledge and power. Buddha images become more than an object people use to recollect the Buddha and his teachings. Because the Buddha's qualities and teachings are embedded into the image, they, like the Buddha, have the power to protect both people and polities.

Although the first two sections relate primarily to the study of Buddha images and their consecration, in the third section Swearer tackles broader Buddhalogical issues. In chapter 7, he argues that consecration ceremony texts establish the essential identity among the previous Buddhas, Gautama, the Buddha of this current world era, and Maitreya, the next Buddha. The texts used in the ceremony make real the unity of all the Buddhas. The image, because the Buddhas' teachings are transferred into it, also participates in this unity of Buddhas. In the last part of the chapter, Swearer examines the relationship between rulers and Buddhism and particular Buddha images, notably the Lion Buddha Image (Phra Buddha Sihing) and the Stone Buddha Image whose chronicle is translated in the last part of the chapter. In the final chapter, Swearer discusses image consecration ceremonies in other parts of Asia, highlighting the broad similarities among all these ceremonies while paying attention to the localizing differences.

In the epilogue, Swearer recognizes that these image consecration ceremonies are popular local practice and provides brief summaries of three current urban views of the relationship between Buddha's teachings and images and amulets. The perspective here complements his earlier discussions and helps contextualize his discussion within the broader spectrum of current Buddhist practices in Thailand. [End Page 504]

Swearer's analysis of local textual traditions and their ritual uses helps move the study of Buddhism away from the canonical literature, but I wish he had gone further and examined how laypeople understand what happens when Buddha images are consecrated. The texts are truly interesting, and the translation is a service to the broader academic audience who, without these translations, would not have access to...

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