The Erotics of Practice: Objects and Agency in Buddhist Avadana Literature

Abstract

The collection of Indian Buddhist narratives known as the Divyāvadāna posits that there is a class of objects whose sight leads to the arising of prasāda in the viewer and that this mental state of prasāda leads the viewer to make an offering. In this article, I first describe the mechanics of prasāda—why it arises, in whom it arises, and the consequences of it arousal—as well as the various “agents of prasāda” (prāsādika) and the power they exert when seen. In discussing the field of effects of prāsādika objects, I consider Catherine MacKinnon's work on pornography to help clarify the politics of this configuration of prasāda as well as its ethical implications. Last, I discuss the aesthetics of prasāda and what this suggests about the function of Buddhist narratives known as avadānas.

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