The Hermit's Hut: Architecture and Asceticism in India

Kazi K. Ashraf

Published by University of Hawaii Press 2013

The Hermit's Hut

Architecture and Asceticism in India

Kazi K. Ashraf
Edited by: Ronald G. Knapp and Xing Ruan

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824839130

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Hermit’s Hut offers an original insight into the profound relationship between architecture and asceticism. Although architecture continually responds to ascetic compulsions, as in its frequent encounter with the question of excess and less, it is typically considered separate from asceticism. In contrast, this innovative book explores the rich and mutual ways in which asceticism and architecture are played out in each other’s practices. The question of asceticism is also considered—as neither a religious discourse nor a specific cultural tradition but as a perennial issue in the practice of culture.

The work convincingly traces the influences from early Indian asceticism to Zen Buddhism to the Japanese teahouse—the latter opening the door to modern minimalism. As the book’s title suggests, the protagonist of the narrative is the nondescript hermit’s hut. Relying primarily on Buddhist materials, the author provides a complex narrative that stems from this simple structure, showing how the significance of the hut resonates widely and how the question of dwelling is central to ascetic imagination. In exploring the conjunctions of architecture and asceticism, he breaks new ground by presenting ascetic practice as fundamentally an architectural project, namely the fabrication of a “last” hut. Through the conception of the last hut, he looks at the ascetic challenge of arriving at the edge of civilization and its echoes in the architectural quest for minimalism. The most vivid example comes from a well-known Buddhist text where the Buddha describes the ultimate ascetic moment, or nirvana, in cataclysmic terms using architectural metaphors: “The roof-rafters will be shattered,” the Buddha declares, and the architect will “no longer build the house again.” As the book compellingly shows, the physiological and spiritual transformation of the body is deeply intertwined with the art of building.

The Hermit’s Hut weaves together the fields of architecture, anthropology, religion, and philosophy to offer multidisciplinary and historical insights. Written in an engaging and accessible manner, it will appeal to readers with diverse interests and in a variety of disciplines—whether one is interested in the history of ascetic architecture in India, the concept of “home” in ancient India, or the theme of the body as building.

Author / Editor information

Knapp Ronald G. :

Ronald G. Knapp, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, State University of New York, New Paltz, where he taught from 1968 to 2001, has been carrying out research on the cultural and historical geography of China since 1965. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books concerning the vernacular architecture of China and Southeast Asia.

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction: The Architecture of Asceticism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Asceticism and Architecture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
2. Home in the Ascetic Imagination Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
3. The Buddha’s House Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
4. The Two Houses: Body and Building in the Ascetic Imagination Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
5. Asceticism and the Primitive Hut Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
6. A Hut with Many Meanings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	152
7. The End of Architecture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Illustrations
- Other: 105 illus.

eBook

Published: October 31, 2013
ISBN: 9780824839130