 |
|
| Theories of Karma in the Dharmasastra (India) | ||
| 作者 | Glucklich, Ariel |
|---|---|
| 出版日期 | 1984 |
| 頁次 | 238 |
| 出版者 | Harvard University |
| 出版者網址 | http://www.harvard.edu/ |
| 出版地 | Boston, MA, US [波士頓, 麻薩諸塞州, 美國] |
| 資料類型 | 博碩士論文=Thesis and Dissertation |
| 使用語言 | 英文=English |
| 學位類別 | 博士 |
| 校院名稱 | Harvard University |
| 畢業年度 | 1984 |
| 關鍵詞 | Karma=Kamma; 尸羅=戒=command=Precept=sila=morality=rule=discipline=prohibition; 信心=Belief=Faith; 轉世=輪迴=Samsara=Rebirth=Reincarnation |
| 摘要 | Over the centuries India has produced several karma theories that share a number of essential characteristics. Among these is the belief that good or evil acts produce ward or retribution by an inexorable law that causes rebirth in future existences for the purpose of experiencing the result of actions. Karma theories were introduced into the Dharmasastra in order to redefine the various forms of legal, moral, and religious transgressions. Karma supplanted, but never completely displaced, earlier Vedic concepts of sin based on a sacrificial cult that stressed the cleanliness of the sacrificer for the efficacy of ritual. This purity also defined the normative condition of individuals. The Dharmasastra contains both ritualistic and karmic notions of sin, and similar terms are freely used to describe either. This dissertation focuses on the conceptual and textual distinction between karma and pollution--purity, particularly with reference to the broad concept of dharma. The functions of karma theories are then examined in the formulation and application of various rules of dharma. Karma is the religious ideology that rationalizes and justifies the duties of the king who enforces dharma. The mere use of force as punishment in pursuit of civil order is legitimized by the concept of danda, or the beneficial karmic effects of punishment on the soul of criminals and, more broadly, on the material prosperity and fertility of the king's entire domain. The Dharmasastras assign hierarchical levels of punishments to members of the varnas. Brahmins enjoy the highest benefits while (')Sudras stand at the bottom of the legal hierarchy. Karma justifies hierarchy in the criminal and civil laws of the Dharmasastra by placing legal actions in the broader category of dharma. In other sections of the Dharmasastra karma defines the status of ill and handicapped individuals, the duties of widows, the relationship between the deceased and the inheritors, and the obligations of witnesses. In general, karma provides the religious sanctions that reinforce all rules of dharma. The status and duties of individuals are determined by conformity to, or violation of, these rules in the present and in past lives. Hindu legal authorities articulated some of these functions of karma for the last time during the debates on British judicial reforms in nineteenth century India. These reforms ended the influence of karma on the Dharmasastra. |
| 點閱次數 | 445 |
| 建檔日期 | 2008.05.13 |
| 更新日期 | 2016.02.23 |
建議您使用 Chrome, Firefox, Safari(Mac) 瀏覽器能獲得較好的檢索效果，IE不支援本檢索系統。
