The Religious World of Kirti Sri: Buddhism, Art, and Politics of Late Medieval Sri Lanka - Tapa dura

Professor Holt has placed us in his debt. His insight is illuminating and informed. It shows a deep understanding of and sympathy for the artistic, political and spiritual objectives of this distinguished king as he serched for validation, both personal and public. A well-illustrated and tightly written monograph....It is clear from his careful and imaginative handling of Kirti Sri's inheritance that the present political tribulations of Sri Lanka have caused Professor Holt much pain.

'...a comprehensive and thought-provoking study of the religious, socio-political and economic structure in late medieval Sri Lanka and it will be useful as a textbook in the fields of Theravada Buddhist, South Asian and Sri Lankan studies...this book is well presented and produced...The author is to be congratulated on his scholastic contribution to the study of Buddhism, art and politics in late medieval Sri Lanka.' (Ratna Wijetunge, Bulleting of the School of Oriental & African Studies, 61, 1)

In this interdisciplinary inquiry, John Clifford Holt seeks to uncover how Buddhism was understood and expressed during the waning years of indigenous political power in Asia's oldest continuing Buddhist culture. Holt focuses on King Kirti Sri Rajasinha and how, despite powerful and persistent Dutch colonial threats and a deeply suspicious Kandyan Buddhist Sinhalese aristocracy, he successfully revived Sinhalese Theravada Buddhism. As Holt demonstrates, Kirti Sri succeeded in formulating his vision of an orthodox Buddhism in a number of ways: through the patronage of monastic sanha and re-establishing traditional lines of ordination, translating the Pali suttas into Sinhala, sponsoring public Buddhist religious rites, and refurbishing almost all Buddhist temples in the Kandyan culture region. The ultimate aim of Holt's study is to describe and interpret Kirti Sri's articulation of a normative Buddhist world, the essentials of which remain normative for many Buddhists in the Kandyan region of Sri Lanka today. Scholars and students will find The Religious World of Kirti Sri is an indispensable resource for the understanding of orthodox Buddhism at this important historical juncture, as well as the present day.