oped in India and beyond, which, in turn, frequently
became manifest as individual divinities, a process
that continues into the present day. Consistent with
the early literature that lays out Buddhism’s basic cos-
mological view, though, in a relative sense, such be-
ings are very real and very active in the world; in an
absolute sense, however, they are ultimately only cre-
ations of our minds, useful as symbols and metaphors
for the enlightenment process, but, like everything
else, empty.
See also:Cosmology; Folk Religion: An Overview;
Ghosts and Spirits; Kukai; Local Divinities and Bud-
dhism; Visnu
Bibliography
Asher, Frederick M. The Art of Eastern India, 300–800 A.D.Min-
neapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980.
Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh. The Indian Buddhist Iconography.
Calcutta: Firm K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1959.
Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism: Their History and
Iconography.New York: Dover, 1988.
Kinnard, Jacob N. Imaging Wisdom: Seeing and Knowing in the
Art of Indian Buddhism.Richmond, UK: Curzon Press, 1999.
JACOBN. KINNARDDIVYAVADANA
The fourth-century C.E. Sanskrit Divyavadana(Heav-
enly Exploits) contains thirty-eight biographical narra-
tives that celebrate the lives of paradigmatic figures in
Buddhist history, authenticate local dharma traditions,
and dramatize the importance of moral discipline,
KARMA(ACTION), DANA(GIVING), and the power of
faith and devotion. Many of the narratives also demon-
strate the central role of storytelling, a dimension of
Buddhist tradition that has only recently attracted the
careful scholarly attention long accorded doctrine, his-
tory, and philosophy.
These narratives derive largely from the MULASAR-
VASTIVADA VINAYA (twenty-one stories) and the
vinayas of other Buddhist monastic schools (nine sto-
ries), but also adapt canonical sutras (chapters 3, 17,
34). Two chapters (36, 38) reproduce the work of clas-
sical Sanskrit poets.
Among other subjects, the Divyavadanaportrays
the adventures of wealthy merchants who become
Buddhist monks (chapters 1, 2, 8, 35), recounts the
family and religious lives of Indian kings (chapters 3,
26–29, 37), and describes the origins of the “Wheel of
Life,” well known in the West from Tibetan paintings
(chapter 21). Readers also find the conversion of
MARA, the Buddhist “Satan” (chapter 26), and the love
story of Sudhana and Manohara(chapters 30, 31), and
learn both what happens when a man offers his daugh-
ter to the Buddha (chapter 36) and when an outcaste
woman falls in love with an eminent monk (chapter 33).
The Divyavadanaalso includes stories about women
who studied Buddhist scripture in their own homes and
others who, out of love or jealousy, cast spells, blinded
their own sons, or committed mass murder.
In the Divyavadana,as in other avadanas,scholars
find a meeting of scriptural, literary, doctrinal, and so-
cial themes that informed Indian Buddhism—in short,
an indispensable window on the ancient tradition.See also:Avadana; Avadanas ́atakaBibliography
Strong, John S., trans. The Legend of King As ́oka.Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1983.
Tatelman, Joel, trans. The Glorious Deeds of Purna.Richmond,
UK: Curzon, 2000.
Winternitz, Maurice. A History of Indian Literature,2 vols., tr.
S. Ketkar and H. Kohn. Calcutta: University of Calcutta
Press, 1927; New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corpora-
tion, 1977.JOELTATELMANDOCTRINE. See Abhidharma; Dharma and
DharmasDOGENDogen (1200–1253), an early Japanese Zen figure, is
regarded as the founder of the Japanese Sotoschool of
Chan Buddhism (Japanese, Zen). Born to an aristo-
cratic family, Dogen entered the Buddhist order as a
child. After studying Tiantai Buddhism (Japanese,
Tendai), he became a follower of Myozen (1184–1225),
who was a disciple of Eisai (1141–1215), a prominent
Japanese exponent of Zen. In 1223 Dogen accompa-
nied Myozen to China, where he stayed at the JingdeDOGEN