Text as Father: Paternal Seductions in Early Mahayana Buddhist Literature

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi Before thanking those who helped me to write this book, I would like to imagine who might/could/should be interested in reading it. Three groups of readers come to mind. First are my colleagues in Buddhist studies who know these texts and, I hope, will Wnd my readings of interest and perhaps of value in their own reflections. Similarly, I hope that those of us who regularly teach the texts discussed here will Wnd cogent descriptions of their narrative dynamics and a set of theoretical issues that could enliven a lecture or discussion. Second, and on a wider plane, I would like to believe that this book will attract readers who are interested in religious narratives. That is, I have tried to keep my discussions broad enough that those history of religions types who read beyond their particular traditions will Wnd enough here to chew on. In particular, as a couple of stray footnotes suggest, throughout this project I have considered the possibility of applying these arguments about truth and paternity in a Christian-Buddhist comparison, a task that I think would be quite rewarding. Third, I have written for the nonspecialist public, or rather all those whose interests in truth, narrative, and identity are strong enough to get them through this book. Be they college students or the guy or girl next door, I would like to think that this book offers them relevant reflections on some generic aspects of being human and inhabiting our thoroughly narratized world of language. With that said, let me thank a number of people who made this book possible . First, I thank my father, an English professor, who taught me much about language and literature and, among other things, spent a lot of time reading to me until I was a young teen. More recently, Stephen (Buzzy) Teiser encouraged me to write this book in December 1998 when, during a short workshop at Princeton University, I presented nascent and somewhat incoherent reflections on the Platform Sutra, reflections that did not make it into this book and might not make it into the next either. Nonetheless, this workshop gave me the opportunity to go public with a number of ideas regarding the reading of Buddhist literature in an atmosphere that was both challenging and appreciative. Likewise, I deeply appreciate the steady support and encouragement of Angela Zito, who has given me much to think about over the years. Also, I owe much to the students in a seminar that I gave for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilization at Harvard University in fall 1998. In particular, Cai Yun, Wiebke Denecke, Bong Seok Joo, and Doug Skonicki pushed my thinking on a variety of issues as we debated strategies in the close reading of Buddhist sutras. And, though I hardly ever get to see him, I also owe warm thanks to Bernard Faure for his various encouragements. My home institution, Lewis & Clark College, also did much to aid my work. Trusting me not to go AWOL, the deans saw Wt to give me a threesemester leave of absence from 1998 through 1999, when I wrote the bulk of the chapters, and then a two-semester leave in 2001–2 when I reWned and rewrote some of the chapters and added the Wnal chapter on Vimalakirti . In an era of growing Fordism in academia, granting me this leave time was a generous gift that I deeply appreciate. Grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Graves Foundation made the Wrst leave possible. In addition, both foundations, in their own ways, gave me a sense of legitimacy through their review process. Closer to home, I thank April Bertelsen for patience and understanding through the year and more of my Wrst sabbatical. Also during that early phase of the project, Tim and Cynthia Ferris offered me more kindness and latitude than I could have imagined, along with a very Wrm couch to sleep on. Slightly later, Marline Otte changed the way I thought about historiography and impressed me with her verve for life. On a more practical level, Andy Bernstein read the Lotus Sutra chapters carefully and offered useful advice on tone and approach. Similarly, Carl Marsak read an early version of the manuscript and suggested numerous changes. Then, near the end of the process, Paul Powers offered me a very thoughtful review and asked me to address some dangling problems and prepositions. Angela Stark also was most helpful in the Wnal...