CSA Spring Lecture Series 2025

Buddhist texts frequently appear to use metaphors to make arguments. For instance, in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Vimalakīrti employs a long series of metaphors for emptiness and ephemerality. These metaphors—stock images, really, so pervasive are they in Buddhist literature—prove highly compelling to Vimalakīrti’s audience. Building on my recent work, in this presentation, I explore how we might approach metaphorical statements as ritual speech acts.