Virtuous Bodies

"Susanne Mrozik's Virtuous Bodies makes a valuable contribution by demonstrating, in a clear and compelling way, how morality is associated with the body in ancient Indian Buddhism. We learn that physical bodies, far from being just loathsome and defiling things, were sometimes viewed as beautiful and capable of aiding others in the pursuit of liberation. As such, Mrozik's work represents an exemplary study whereby a single text-Santideva's Compendium of Training?in tandem with insights from feminist and critical theory can be used to illuminate an important, and often overlooked, facet of early Buddhist thought." --Stephen C. Berkwitz, author of Buddhist History in the Vernacular: The Power of the Past in Late Medieval Sri Lanka "Using Santideva's Compendium of Training as its point of focus, Mrozik's study redresses a major imbalance in modern discussions of Buddhist ethics, which have tended to emphasize the importance of the affective and cognitive dimensions of the moral development of the bodhisattva. Virtuous Bodies convincingly demonstrates that Buddhist moral discourse emphasizes the cultivation of physical qualities as much as it does psychological qualities. By clarifying the importance of the morally transformative power of Buddhas' and bodhisattvas' bodies in Mahayana literature, Mrozik offers a new way of conceptualizing the negative Buddhist discourse that devalues bodies as impermanent, foul, and lacking in intrinsic value." --Peter N. Gregory, Jill Ker Conway Professor of Religion & East Asian Studies, Smith College "Virtuous Bodies is a masterful interdisciplinary work. Mrozik's innovative approach breaks down disciplinary boundaries between ethics, gender studies, history of religions, and critical theory." --Liz Wilson, Professor and Chair, Department of Comparative Religion, Miami University "This clear, informative, well-documented study would be a welcome addition to any course on Buddhism." --Choice ". . . Brings into sharper focus the centrality of human embodiment in South Asian Buddhist religious discourses and encourages us to reflect deeply on its implications for our own ethical inquiry." --The Journal of Religion "The fact that there has been no complete translation of the Compendium since the publication of Bendall and Rouse in the early twentieth century is an indicator of the scholarly neglect of the text and of the status of Mrozik's book as a pioneering work that will set the bar for future studies." --Journal of the American Oriental Society