Natasha Heller | University of Virginia (original) (raw)
Phone: 4349249390
Address: 323 Gibson Hall
1540 Jefferson Park Ave.
PO Box 400126
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4126
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UERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Rio de Janeiro State University
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Books by Natasha Heller
A groundbreaking monograph on Yuan dynasty Buddhism, Illusory Abiding offers a cultural history o... more A groundbreaking monograph on Yuan dynasty Buddhism, Illusory Abiding offers a cultural history of Buddhism through a case study of the eminent Chan master Zhongfeng Mingben. Natasha Heller demonstrates that Mingben, and other monks of his stature, developed a range of cultural competencies through which they navigated social and intellectual relationships. They mastered repertoires internal to their tradition—for example, guidelines for monastic life—as well as those that allowed them to interact with broader elite audiences, such as the ability to compose verses on plum blossoms. These cultural exchanges took place within local, religious, and social networks—and at the same time, they comprised some of the very forces that formed these networks in the first place. This monograph contributes to a more robust account of Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China, and demonstrates the importance of situating monks as actors within broader sociocultural fields of practice and exchange.
Papers by Natasha Heller
History of Religions 51.1, 2011
Abstract: To examine the metaphor of illusion in Chinese Buddhism, Natasha Heller focuses on “Hua... more Abstract: To examine the metaphor of illusion in Chinese Buddhism, Natasha Heller focuses on “Huanzhu jiaxun” 幻住家訓 (The family instructions of “Illusory Abiding”) by the Chan monk Zhongfeng Mengben 中峰明本 (1263–1323). Considering Mingben's usage of the term “illusory”(huan) in relation to its history in non-Buddhist and Buddhist sources, she examines how he addressed the use of language, with special reference to the Chan concept of “observing the key phrase”(kanhua).
Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 26, 2013
Lay female practitioners were an important part of Buddhist history in the Song and Yuan dynastie... more Lay female practitioners were an important part of Buddhist history in the Song and Yuan dynasties, but the nature and importance of their role is obscured by textual sources written almost exclusively by men. This paper takes one example of an androcentric genre-the biography of a monk-and considers how women have been marginalized. The primary biographers of Zhongfeng Mingben (1263-1323) leave out women who played a role in his life. Drawing on other sources, I argue that in fact women were important to the development of his career, and that his teachings encompassed women.
A groundbreaking monograph on Yuan dynasty Buddhism, Illusory Abiding offers a cultural history o... more A groundbreaking monograph on Yuan dynasty Buddhism, Illusory Abiding offers a cultural history of Buddhism through a case study of the eminent Chan master Zhongfeng Mingben. Natasha Heller demonstrates that Mingben, and other monks of his stature, developed a range of cultural competencies through which they navigated social and intellectual relationships. They mastered repertoires internal to their tradition—for example, guidelines for monastic life—as well as those that allowed them to interact with broader elite audiences, such as the ability to compose verses on plum blossoms. These cultural exchanges took place within local, religious, and social networks—and at the same time, they comprised some of the very forces that formed these networks in the first place. This monograph contributes to a more robust account of Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China, and demonstrates the importance of situating monks as actors within broader sociocultural fields of practice and exchange.
History of Religions 51.1, 2011
Abstract: To examine the metaphor of illusion in Chinese Buddhism, Natasha Heller focuses on “Hua... more Abstract: To examine the metaphor of illusion in Chinese Buddhism, Natasha Heller focuses on “Huanzhu jiaxun” 幻住家訓 (The family instructions of “Illusory Abiding”) by the Chan monk Zhongfeng Mengben 中峰明本 (1263–1323). Considering Mingben's usage of the term “illusory”(huan) in relation to its history in non-Buddhist and Buddhist sources, she examines how he addressed the use of language, with special reference to the Chan concept of “observing the key phrase”(kanhua).
Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 26, 2013
Lay female practitioners were an important part of Buddhist history in the Song and Yuan dynastie... more Lay female practitioners were an important part of Buddhist history in the Song and Yuan dynasties, but the nature and importance of their role is obscured by textual sources written almost exclusively by men. This paper takes one example of an androcentric genre-the biography of a monk-and considers how women have been marginalized. The primary biographers of Zhongfeng Mingben (1263-1323) leave out women who played a role in his life. Drawing on other sources, I argue that in fact women were important to the development of his career, and that his teachings encompassed women.