Fiordalis, ‘Miracles in South Asian Buddhist Lit’ (2008)

David V. Fiordalis. Miracles and Superhuman Powers in South Asian Buddhist Literature. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2008. 232 pp. [HDL / PDF]

Abstract

Scholars have long been aware of the presence of marvelous events in Buddhist literature. While it is now more fashionable to speak about them, some still hesitate to use the word miracle in reference to Buddhism. Paying attention to how Buddhists defined their own terms, this dissertation argues that the concept of the miracle is appropriate to use in translating specific Buddhist terminology. The present study examines the narrative and scholastic language Buddhists used to denote and classify various types of miracles and superhuman powers. […]
Collapsing the dichotomy between miracles and magic, these scriptures invoke the metaphor of the Buddha as the greatest magician, who manipulates reality because magical illusion is itself a metaphor for the nature of reality. Thus, Buddhist miracles are exhibitions of techniques connected to the spiritual accomplishments of Buddhas, Arhats and Bodhisattvas, but at the same time, they become expressions of a truth that is not merely technical or mundane, but ultimately beyond ordinary conception.