Articulating potency: A study of the 'Suvarn&dotbelow;a(pra)bhasottamasutra'.

摘要

This study examines how the Suvarn&dotbelow;a( pra)bhasottamasutra (Discourse of Utmost Golden Radiance) articulates its own potency---its intrinsic value and capacity to transform beings and the cosmos. Although this potency is the predominant theme of the text, it is never definitively named or located; it is only visible in its effects. The mysterious, indeterminate source of the sutra's potency significantly contributes to its allure: what cannot be seen or located is infinite, and the infinite inspires awe and devotion.; The dissertation explores the complex relationships among the sutra, the Buddha, and the dharmabhan&dotbelow;aka (the orator), as well as the synesthetic representation of the oral/aural sutra as a potent substance (especially as a rasa, a savory liquid that is also an aesthetic quality) that enters and transforms its audience and their world. The categories of analysis employed in this close reading are derived from the Suvarn&dotbelow;a(pra) bhasottamasutra itself: the relationships between the form and the content of the sutra, and between the sutra and its auditors and orators. The words of the sutra are about the potency of the words of the sutra; this involuted relationship between form and content is critical to the articulation of the sutra's potency. The sutra also asserts the critical dependence of its value and transformative capacity upon its being uttered by an eloquent orator and heard by a receptive audience---a scenario that is intricately mirrored in the narrative content and form of the sutra. The role of these relationships in the articulation of the sutra's potency informs the methodology of this study.; While the Sanskrit text is the primary focus of the study, Chinese, Tibetan, and Khotanese translations of the Suvarn&dotbelow;a( pra)bhasottamasutra are also considered. Translation, as an interpretive process, provides a crucial glimpse of the different ways in which potency has been interpreted and re-created in varied Buddhist communities, thereby both confirming and complicating the reading of the Sanskrit text presented in this study.