Travels in the netherworld : Buddhist popular narratives of death and the afterlife in Tibet / / Bryan J. Cuevas

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910795749303321
• Autore: Cuevas Bryan J. <1967->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York : , : Oxford University Press, , 2008
• ISBN: 9780199712373; 0199712379; 0-19-985170-0; 1-4356-4214-7; 9786611342326; 0-19-534116-3; 1-281-34232-7; 0-19-971237-9
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (viii, 199 pages)
• Disciplina: 294.3/423
• Soggetti: Death - Religious aspects - Buddhism; Buddhism - China - Tibet Autonomous Region - Customs and practices; Near-death experiences - China - Tibet Autonomous Region
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [169]-192) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: To hell and back -- Travels of a Tibetan housewife -- A lama in distress -- The return of a noble young lady -- A ghost in monk's robes -- Storytellers.
• Sommario/riassunto: In Travels in the Netherworld, Bryan J. Cuevas examines a fascinating but little-known genre of Tibetan narrative literature about the delok, ordinary men and women who claim to have died, traveled through hell, and then returned from the afterlife. These narratives enjoy audiences ranging from the most sophisticated monastic scholars to pious townsfolk, villagers, and nomads. Their accounts emphasize the universal Buddhist principles of impermanence and worldly suffering, the fluctuations of karma, and the feasibility of obtaining a favorable rebirth through virtue and merit.