A15179W1

DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY

Oriental Studies

(Buddhist Studies)

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF BUDDHISM

TRINITY TERM 2017

Tuesday, 20 June, 2.30 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.

Candidates should answer THREE questions.

This paper consists of two pages.

Do not turn over until told that you may do so.

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 1. Discuss the various scholarly views on the so-called “aniconic phase” which
characterises, according to some authors, early Buddhist Art.

2. Discuss the various functions performed by images in Buddhist practice according to the
sources studied by DeCaroli in Image Problems.

3. What does the adoption and early uses of iconic representations of the Buddha tell us
about Buddhist notions of the body?

4. Discuss the main features of Buddhist legal thought as reflected by Vinaya literature.

5. In which sense can we define the various Vinayas as legal codes, and what are the
implications of this definition?

6. Discuss the main hermeneutical methods elaborated by EITHER (a) Vasubandhu’s

Vyākhyāyukti, OR (b) the “Peṭaka tradition” reflected by the Nettippakaraṇa and the
Peṭakopadesa.

7. Discuss the particular challenges faced by Chinese commentators of Buddhist scriptures

and the key hermeneutical strategies they adopted.

8. Discuss Buddhist ideals of kingship and good governance, both in general and with
particular reference to an area of your choice.

9. Discuss the relationship between State and saṃgha in modern Burma (present-day
Myanmar).

10. How did the Chinese state react, at an institutional level, to the presence in its territory
of the saṃgha? Discuss the historical development of systems of bureaucratic control of
Buddhist institutions in China.

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