Nicolas Sihlé & Patrice Ladwig (2017). Introduction. Legacies, Trajectories and Comparison in the Anthropology of Buddhism, Religion and Society, Vol. 8: 109–128 (original) (raw)
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Oxford Handbook of the Anthropology of Religion
A summary of developments in the anthropology of Buddhism from the first part of the twentieth century to the first decades of the twenty-first century, together with reflections on the comparability of different forms of Buddhist thought, practice and society. This is a draft of a chapter/article that has been accepted for publication by Oxford University Press in the forthcoming book Oxford Handbook of the Anthropology of Religion edited by Simon Coleman and Joel Robbins due for publication.
Afterword: So What Is the Anthropology of Buddhism About?
Religion and Society, 2017
It is simultaneously flattering and alarming to be represented as having written a key synthesis on the anthropology of Buddhism 27 years ago. 1 The alarm arises not just from the passage of time but mainly from the fact-pointed out by Erick White in his contribution to this special section-that somehow the anthropology of Buddhism lost momentum shortly after that paper was written. Consequently, subsequent anthropology of Buddhism, White argues, has tended to reproduce the much earlier assumptions of the 1970s and 80s rather than renewing and rethinking itself in the way that other sub-fields have done. In fact, quite a large amount of relevant work has been and is being done (not least on issues of gender 2 ), but no one (to my knowledge) has yet attempted to synthesize it, perhaps because of the sheer size of the task. It may also be relevant that until recently many of those contributing to the field were based in Area Studies or Religious Studies departments, rather than in Anthropology. All this makes the efforts of Patrice Ladvig and Nicolas Sihlé, both in this collection and more widely, to shape and update the field, as well as to reflect critically on the terms in which it is defined, especially welcome.
Buddhism and Buddhist Studies. From History to Contemporaneity. Introduction
International Review of Social Research , 2019
This special issue of the International Review of Social Research addressed scholars from a wide range of disciplines connected to Buddhist academic research and Buddhism. The articles we selected cover an extended spectrum of research topics, including Buddhist history and histories, Buddhism in India and Asia, Buddhism and archaeology, Buddhist rituals and practices, Buddhism cultural origins and cultural transformations, Buddhism, identity and social change, Buddhist heritage, Buddhist sites and tourism. We welcomed articles on classical textual analysis, Buddhist doctrine, archaeology, as well as analyzing contemporary Buddhist communities. The volume’s guest editors are interested in enhancing the advances and research results in the field of Buddhist studies and Buddhism, worldwide. Acknowledging the interdisciplinary and international nature, inherent to the contemporary Buddhist studies, we intended to facilitate the exchanges of ideas between different disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, history, archeology, art history, religious studies, literary, textual and philological studies etc. We considered also the observations of José Ignacio Cabezón, for an emphasis on cultural contextualization (see Nash et. al., 1966), as well as on cross-cultural analysis or feminist studies (see also Gross, 1993, Klein, 1995), or to a critique of colonialism, neocolonialism (Cabezón, 1995: 264).
Theory and Method in the Study of Buddhism: Toward ‘Translocative’ Analysis
2011
Focusing on theory and method in the study of U.S. Buddhism, this article analyzes the subfield’s interpretive categories and theoretical assumptions during each of its four phases. A new phase opened in 2000, and no single theory or method has emerged as predominant, just as few scholars have scrutinized the moral implications of their frameworks. Most prevailing interpretive models, which are borrowed from scholars not trained in religious studies, remain indifferent or hostile to religious practice, or specialists draw on models from religious studies that commit the interpreter to a static and bounded notion of culture that offers little aid to those who want to study the dynamics of religious practice in the era of global flows. Further, whether the guiding models are derived from religious studies or not, the models’ moral implications are not always examined. The emergent concerns of the subfield, in other words, are not well served by the available theories of religion and t...
The masters go West : A story of Buddhism ’ s adaptation to new " fields
2013
The reach and appeal of Buddhism are its faculty of adaptation to other cultural backgrounds and languages, and its egalitarian view of sentient beings. Taking a cultural anthropology perspective, this paper would like to illustrate the fact that Buddhism as a globalized and multi-faceted religion is not a new phenomenon, and that Tibetan Buddhism’s diffusion in the West is due to different factors.
Jr. Donald S. Lopez - Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism (2009)
University Of Chicago Press, 2009
Over the past century, Buddhism has come to be seen as a world religion, exceeding Christianity in longevity and, according to many, philosophical wisdom. Buddhism has also increasingly been described as strongly ethical, devoted to nonviolence, and dedicated to bringing an end to human suffering. And because it places such a strong emphasis on rational analysis, Buddhism is considered more compatible with science than the other great religions. As such, Buddhism has been embraced in the West, both as an alternative religion and as an alternative to religion. This volume provides a unique introduction to Buddhism by examining categories essential for a nuanced understanding of its traditions. Each of the fifteen essays here shows students how a fundamental term—from art to word—illuminates the practice of Buddhism, both in traditional Buddhist societies and in the realms of modernity. Apart from Buddha, the list of terms in this collection deliberately includes none that are intrinsic to the religion. Instead, the contributors explore terms that are important for many fields and that invite interdisciplinary reflection. Through incisive discussions of topics ranging from practice, power, and pedagogy to ritual, history, sex, and death, the authors offer new directions for the understanding of Buddhism, taking constructive and sometimes polemical positions in an effort both to demonstrate the shortcomings of assumptions about the religion and the potential power of revisionary approaches. Following the tradition of Critical Terms for Religious Studies, this volume is not only an invaluable resource for the classroom but one that belongs on the short list of essential books for anyone seriously interested in Buddhism and Asian religions.