Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Technical Note on Terms Introduction 1. The Devaluation of Language and the Privileging of Perception 2. Buddhist Visuality in History Metaphor 3. Orality, Writing, and Authority: Visionary Literature and the Struggle for Legitimacy in the Mahayana 4. Realms of the Senses: Buddha Fields and Fields of Vision in the Gandavyuha Sutra 5. The Optics of Buddhist Meditation and Devotion 6. Conclusions and Occlusions Notes Bibliography Index