| Abstrakt: |
This article identifies and examines processes of othering in an early Indian Buddhist ascetic text, the Pali Vinaya of the Theravādins. By means of: (1) a critical discussion of the fact that the Pali Vinaya holds several terms for the early Buddhists' ascetic others; and (2) a close reading and analysis of a small group of – easily overlooked – Pali Vinaya passages with explicit references to supposed practices of the early Buddhists' ascetic others, I make explicit two aspects of the processes of othering of the early Buddhist ascetic community. I show how through processes of othering Buddhist bhikkhus, or at the very least the monk-editors of the Pali Vinaya, both negotiated a collective identity notion, and reflected on the significance of their own practices and values in direct relation to those of their ascetic others, whether real or imagined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
