Rebuilding Buddhism

Author : Sarah LeVine
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674040120
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rebuilding Buddhism written by Sarah LeVine and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-30 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rebuilding Buddhism describes in evocative detail the experiences and achievements of Nepalis who have adopted Theravada Buddhism. This form of Buddhism was introduced into Nepal from Burma and Sri Lanka in the 1930s, and its adherents have struggled for recognition and acceptance ever since. With its focus on the austere figure of the monk and the biography of the historical Buddha, and more recently with its emphasis on individualizing meditation and on gender equality, Theravada Buddhism contrasts sharply with the highly ritualized Tantric Buddhism traditionally practiced in the Kathmandu Valley. Based on extensive fieldwork, interviews, and historical reconstruction, the book provides a rich portrait of the different ways of being a Nepali Buddhist over the past seventy years. At the same time it explores the impact of the Theravada movement and what its gradual success has meant for Buddhism, for society, and for men and women in Nepal.

Author : Sarah LeVine and David N. Gellner
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788187358398
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.94/5 ( download)

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Download or read book REBUILDING BUDDHISM The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal written by Sarah LeVine and David N. Gellner and published by . This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rebuilding Buddhism Describes In Evocative Detail The Experiences And Achievements Of Nepalis Who Have Adopted Theravada Buddhism. This Form Of Buddhism Was Introduced Into Nepal From Burma And Sri Lanka In The 1930S, And Its Adherents Have Struggled For Recognition And Acceptance Ever Since. With Its Focus On The Austere Figure Of The Monk And The Biography Of The Historical Buddha, And More Recently With Its Emphasis On Individualizing Meditation And On Gender Equality, Theravada Buddhism Contrasts Sharply With The Highly Ritualized Tantric Buddhism Traditionally Practiced In The Kathmandu Valley.

Author : Ji Zhe
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824880242
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.48/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Buddhism after Mao written by Ji Zhe and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2020-02-29 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With well over 100 million adherents, Buddhism emerged from near-annihilation during the Cultural Revolution to become the largest religion in China today. Despite this, Buddhism’s rise has received relatively little scholarly attention. The present volume, with contributions by leading scholars in sociology, anthropology, political science, and religious studies, explores the evolution of Chinese Buddhism in the post-Mao period with a depth not seen before in a single study. Chapters critically analyze the effects of state policies on the evolution of Buddhist institutions; the challenge of rebuilding temples under the watchful eye of the state; efforts to rebuild monastic lineages and schools left broken in the aftermath of Mao’s rule; and the development of new lay Buddhist spaces, both at temple sites and online. Through its multidisciplinary perspectives, the book provides both an extensive overview of the social and political conditions under which Buddhism has grown as well as discussions of the individual projects of both monastic and lay entrepreneurs who dynamically and creatively carve out spaces for Buddhist growth in contemporary Chinese society. As a wide-ranging study that illuminates many facets of China’s Buddhist revival, Buddhism after Mao will be required reading for scholars of Chinese Buddhism and of Buddhism and modernity more broadly. Its detailed case studies examining the intersections among religion, state, and contemporary Chinese society will be welcomed by sociologists and anthropologists of China, political scientists focusing on the role of religion in state formation in Asian societies, and all those interested in the relationship between religion and social change.

Author : Gregory Adam Scott
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190930748
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.45/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Building the Buddhist Revival written by Gregory Adam Scott and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1850 and 1966, tens of thousands of Buddhist sacred sites in China were destroyed, victims of targeted destruction, accidental damage, or simply neglect. During the same period, however, many of these sites were reconstructed, a process that involved both rebuilding material structures and reviving religious communities. The conventionally accepted narrative of Chinese Buddhism during the modern era is that it underwent a revival initiated by innovative monastics and laypersons, leaders who reinvented Buddhist traditions to meet the challenges of modernity. Gregory Adam Scott shows, however, that over time it became increasingly difficult for reconstruction leaders to resist the interests of state actors, who sought to refashion monastery sites as cultural monuments rather than as living religious communities. These sites were then intended to serve as symbols of Chinese history and cultural heritage, while their function as a frame for religious life was increasingly pushed aside. As a result, the power to determine whether and how a monastery would be reconstructed, and the types of activities that would be reinstated or newly introduced, began to shift from religious leaders and communities to state agencies that had a radically different set of motivations and values. Building the Buddhist Revival explores the history of Chinese Buddhist monastery reconstruction from the end of the Imperial period through the first seventeen years of the People's Republic. Over this century of history, the nature and significance of reconstructing Buddhist monasteries changes drastically, mirroring broader changes in Chinese society. Yet this book argues that change has always been in the nature of religious communities such as Buddhist monasteries, and that reconstruction, rather than a return to the past, represents innovative and adaptive change. In this way, it helps us understand the broader significance of the Buddhist "revival" in China during this era, as a creative reconstruction of religion upon longstanding foundations.

Author : Kim Gutschow
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674038088
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Being a Buddhist Nun written by Kim Gutschow and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They may shave their heads, don simple robes, and renounce materialism and worldly desires. But the women seeking enlightenment in a Buddhist nunnery high in the folds of Himalayan Kashmir invariably find themselves subject to the tyrannies of subsistence, subordination, and sexuality. Ultimately, Buddhist monasticism reflects the very world it is supposed to renounce. Butter and barley prove to be as critical to monastic life as merit and meditation. Kim Gutschow lived for more than three years among these women, collecting their stories, observing their ways, studying their lives. Her book offers the first ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist society from the perspective of its nuns. Gutschow depicts a gender hierarchy where nuns serve and monks direct, where monks bless the fields and kitchens while nuns toil in them. Monasteries may retain historical endowments and significant political and social power, yet global flows of capitalism, tourism, and feminism have begun to erode the balance of power between monks and nuns. Despite the obstacles of being considered impure and inferior, nuns engage in everyday forms of resistance to pursue their ascetic and personal goals. A richly textured picture of the little known culture of a Buddhist nunnery, the book offers moving narratives of nuns struggling with the Buddhist discipline of detachment. Its analysis of the way in which gender and sexuality construct ritual and social power provides valuable insight into the relationship between women and religion in South Asia today.

Author : Hwansoo Ilmee Kim
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 1684175208
Total Pages : 458 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Empire of the Dharma written by Hwansoo Ilmee Kim and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Empire of the Dharma explores the dynamic relationship between Korean and Japanese Buddhists in the years leading up to the Japanese annexation of Korea. Conventional narratives cast this relationship in politicized terms, with Korean Buddhists portrayed as complicit in the “religious annexation” of the peninsula. However, this view fails to account for the diverse visions, interests, and strategies that drove both sides. Hwansoo Ilmee Kim complicates this politicized account of religious interchange by reexamining the “alliance” forged in 1910 between the Japanese Soto sect and the Korean Wonjong order. The author argues that their ties involved not so much political ideology as mutual benefit. Both wished to strengthen Buddhism’s precarious position within Korean society and curb Christianity’s growing influence. Korean Buddhist monastics sought to leverage Japanese resources as a way of advancing themselves and their temples, and missionaries of Japanese Buddhist sects competed with one another to dominate Buddhism on the peninsula. This strategic alliance pushed both sides to confront new ideas about the place of religion in modern society and framed the way that many Korean and Japanese Buddhists came to think about the future of their shared religion."

Author : Michael K. Jerryson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199362386
Total Pages : 761 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism written by Michael K. Jerryson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As an incredibly diverse religious system, Buddhism is constantly changing. The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism offers a comprehensive collection of work by leading scholars in the field that tracks these changes up to the present day. Taken together, the book provides a blueprint to understanding Buddhism's past and uses it to explore the ways in which Buddhism has transformed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The volume contains 41 essays, divided into two sections. The essays in the first section examine the historical development of Buddhist traditions throughout the world. These chapters cover familiar settings like India, Japan, and Tibet as well as the less well-known countries of Vietnam, Bhutan, and the regions of Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. Focusing on changes within countries and transnationally, this section also contains chapters that focus explicitly on globalization, such as Buddhist international organizations and diasporic communities. The second section tracks the relationship between Buddhist traditions and particular themes. These chapters review Buddhist interactions with contemporary topics such as violence and peacebuilding, and ecology, as well as Buddhist influences in areas such as medicine and science. Offering coverage that is both expansive and detailed, The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism delves into some of the most debated and contested areas within Buddhist Studies today.

Author : Stephen C. Berkwitz
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1851097872
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Buddhism in World Cultures written by Stephen C. Berkwitz and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2006-04-06 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive overview of modern Buddhism across cultures, showing how this ancient religion has adapted to recent social and political change. Collecting the work of leading authorities on Buddhism in different societies around the world, this book details the state of the religion in Asian countries where it is a major cultural influence and in North America. The religion has changed to meet the challenges of modernity; its practitioners have incorporated those innovations and this work examines those changes in-depth. A comprehensive overview of historical Buddhist practice grounds the reader for the entire nine chapters, each of which is organized by geographical area and follows the path Buddhism took as it spread across Asia and into North America. Each chapter presents field research and critical reflection on what constitutes modern Buddhism in one of nine countries or regions. Histories of Buddhism are common; this is the only source for in-depth information on modern Buddhism.

Author : Paul H. De Neui
Publisher : William Carey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1645080749
Total Pages : 295 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Restored to Freedom from Fear, Guilt, and Shame written by Paul H. De Neui and published by William Carey Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-01 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SEANET proudly presents Restored to Freedom from Fear, Guilt, and Shame, volume 13 in its series on intercultural and inter-religious studies.These three cultural orientations impact the shaping and expression of worldview. While all are present to a certain extent in every context, this volume draws from the expressions and insights found from within the Buddhist world. Understanding orientations differing from our own helps us understand more of ourselves, part of the enrichment resulting in the process of encounter. We require the lens of the world in order to better recognize our own cultural blindness. We use the word “restoration” believing that it is God’s purpose to restore all that was lost through fear, guilt, and shame back to the original status of power, honor, and innocence through reconciliation on all levels. This volume is for all who seek restoration to freedom for self and others.

Author : Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 1479803421
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Women in Buddhist Traditions written by Karma Lekshe Tsomo and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new history of Buddhism that highlights the insights and experiences of women from diverse communities and traditions around the world Buddhist traditions have developed over a period of twenty-five centuries in Asia, and recent decades have seen an unprecedented spread of Buddhism globally. From India to Japan, Sri Lanka to Russia, Buddhist traditions around the world have their own rich and diverse histories, cultures, religious lives, and roles for women. Wherever Buddhism has taken root, it has interacted with indigenous cultures and existing religious traditions. These traditions have inevitably influenced the ways in which Buddhist ideas and practices have been understood and adapted. Tracing the branches and fruits of these culturally specific transmissions and adaptations is as challenging as it is fascinating. Women in Buddhist Traditions chronicles pivotal moments in the story of Buddhist women, from the beginning of Buddhist history until today. The book highlights the unique contributions of Buddhist women from a variety of backgrounds and the strategies they have developed to challenge patriarchy in the process of creating an enlightened society. Women in Buddhist Traditions offers a groundbreaking and insightful introduction to the lives of Buddhist women worldwide.