Schopen, Gregory. Bones, Stone and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers 
            on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in 
            India. Studies in the Buddhist Tradition. Honolulu: University of
            Hawaii Press, 1997. xvii+298 pp. $58.00 (cloth); $31.95 (paper).

            This book is not an easy read. In the first place, since it is a 
            collection of twelve scholarly articles previously published in 
            journals devoted to the study of various aspects of Asian religious 
            cultures, it is not a tightly woven single piece. It was not 
            intended to be. Although related issues do arise repeatedly 
            throughout the essays (how death was handled predominates), targets 
            of Gregory Schopen's criticisms are constantly shifting and thus the 
            particularity of each essay requires a corresponding effort on the 
            part of the reader to reorient. Second, many sections of these 
            articles, sections accompanied by detailed footnoting (such that 
            some footnotes contain "subplots" or fine bibliographic essays on 
            their own), are further ladened with copious references to finer and 
            often quite technical points of epigraphic and philological 
            significance. Though these are often necessary for Schopen to 
            buttress his major contentions, readers can be easily saturated. 
            Third, and most importantly, if Shopen is right, and most of his 
            arguments appear to be quite convincing indeed, then many 
            generalizations about the religious life of Indian Buddhist 
            monasticism set forth by some of the major players in the history of 
            Buddhist studies, generalizations frequently preserved, distilled, 
            or recapitulated in the most accessible and standard presentations 
            of Buddhism (what Schopen calls the "received tradition" of Buddhist 
            studies), need a very serious revisioning. This may prove unsettling 
            to some, especially those who have grown comfortable with this 
            "received tradition." In short, while a difficult read for a number 
            of reasons, no serious scholar of Buddhist studies can afford 
            (despite the relatively expensive price) to ignore this 
            argumentative, challenging, and provocative set of essays. 
            There is a clear pattern found in most of Schopen's articles. He 
            begins by noting a general assertion advanced by major scholars, 
            past and present, in the field of Buddhist studies (for instance, 
            Heinz Bechert, Richard Gombrich, Andre Bareau, J. W. de Jong, 
            Etienne Lamotte, Louis de la Vallee Poussin, Sylvain Levy, T. W. 
            Rhys Davids, or Hermann Oldenberg) and proceeds to undermine their 
            claims by appealing to archaeological and epigraphic evidence, 
            evidence that, all too often in the past, he argues, has been 
            ignored largely due to the propensity of most scholars to focus 
            explanations and interpretations almost exclusively on texts 
            produced by a monastic elite. Throughout these essays, Schopen often 
            warns against the theoretical disposition in which "textuality 
            overrides actuality" while doctrine, especially in its most abstract 
            forms of buddhological expression, is privileged over a 
            consideration of everyday practice. Schopen is also concerned that 
            too many scholars in the past have too easily assumed that the 
            Buddhist monastic religious life idealized in a selected genre of 
            sacred texts can be regarded as evidence for the manner in which 
            Buddhists historically constructed their worlds of meaning and their 
            disciplines of practice. He also demonstrates how some have assumed, 
            unwittingly or naively, that the ideal religious life of Indian 
            monasticism somehow reflects the types of religiosity (generally 
            Protestant) congenial to their own idealistic religious imaginations 
            (the Buddha imagined as a "Victorian gentleman," for instance). 
            While these are some of the theoretical and methodological issues 
            addressed throughout these essays, here are some of the important 
            substantive general assertions about Indian Buddhist monasticism 
            that Schopen is at great pains to refute: that filial piety only 
            became an important dimension of Buddhist monasticism once the 
            tradition had migrated to East Asia and the Chinese had 
            "transformed" Buddhism; that Buddhist monks played virtually no 
            roles in the ritual life of the laity or in relation to life-cycle 
            rites, monastic and lay; that monks did not participate in the cult 
            of the stupa; that the laity (and not monks and nuns) were the 
            exclusive or primary donors of images or monastic buildings; that 
            the cultic understanding of relics does not include an understanding 
            of a Buddha who continues to live as a real presence; and that most 
            popular monastic practices were the result of an elite strata of 
            monks caving in to pressures exerted by the "vulgar" orientation of 
            the less sophisticated. There are many other issues at stake as 
            well, tot) many to note for this brief review. 
            Readers should note, as indicated at the beginning of each chapter, 
            where Schopen originally chose to publish his essays. His selection 
            was always judicious and readers can thus determine his particular 
            intentions in relation to his audience. In each case, Schopen's 
            arguments are refreshing, honest, often brilliant, and always 
            cogently presented. The clarity and scope of his conclusions are 
            especially well drawn. The editor of this series promises that a 
            second set of Schopen's collected essays, these concerned with the 
            rise of Mahayana, is in the pipeline. Very good news!