Text as Father: Paternal Seductions in Early Mahāyāna Buddhist Literature

The book begins by explaining the meaning of “text as father,” a phrase Cole uses to describe how Mahāyāna texts create “truth-fathers” within their narratives. These textual father-figures authorize the text, while the text simultaneously presents itself as the medium through which the reader gains access to Buddhist truth and legitimacy. The introduction frames early Mahāyāna literature as a sophisticated literary project that consciously reshapes Buddhist authority through narrative, desire, paternity, and readerly conversion. The main chapters then examine four major works: the Lotus Sūtra, where paternity and legitimacy are reissued through the text; the Diamond Sūtra, where loss and negation become productive religious strategies; the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, where sameness and difference are used to structure authority; and the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, where antinomian rhetoric is ultimately folded back into textual authority. The conclusion reflects on the broader implications of these Mahāyāna narratives for understanding truth, textuality, patriarchy, and the reconstruction of Buddhist tradition.