Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Introduction: “Buddhist Politics” as Emptiness: History and the Forms of Engagement in Asia

   1. Introduction: “Buddhist Politics” as Emptiness: History and the Forms of Engagement in Asia

      • John Whalen-Bridge, Pattana Kitiarsa

      Pages 1-14

3. Dependent Originations and Changing Destinations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

      PDF

   2. Buddhists Confront the State

      • Charles F. Keyes

      Pages 17-39

   3. “Foremost among Religions”: Theravada Buddhism’s Affairs with the Modern Sri Lankan State

      • Mahinda Deegalle

      Pages 41-61

   4. Schools, Ritual Economies, and the Expanding State:The Changing Roles of Lao Buddhist Monks as “Traditional Intellectuals”

      • Patrice Ladwig

      Pages 63-91

4. The Political Role of Sacred Things

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 93-93

      PDF

   2. Post-Pol Pot Cambodia and the Building of a New Stupa

      • John Amos Marston

      Pages 95-113

   3. The Relic and the Rule of Righteousness: Reflections on U Nu’s Dhammavijaya

      • Tilman Frasch

      Pages 115-138

   4. Sacred Site or Public Space? The Shwedagon Pagoda in Colonial Rangoon

      • Donald M. Seekins

      Pages 139-159

5. Monks, Nuns, and … Trees

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 161-161

      PDF

   2. Angry Monk Syndrome on the World Stage: Tibet, Engaged Buddhism, and the Weapons of the Weak

      • John Whalen-Bridge

      Pages 163-207

   3. Rebirth Control: Contemporary Inner Mongolian Buddhism and the Religious Authority of the Chinese State

      • Jonathan Mair

      Pages 209-228

   4. Do Buddhist “Nuns” Need the Thai Sangha?

      • Monica Lindberg Falk

      Pages 229-244

   5. Sacred Protests and Buddhist Environmental Knowledge

      • Susan M. Darlington

      Pages 245-262

6. Back Matter

   Pages 263-277

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Leading scholars working on Buddhism and politics in South and Southeast Asia add to current discussions regarding 'Engaged Buddhism' and the recent work on protests. The writers have mostly established themselves in their fields, offering a diverse approach and country-by-country coverage.

• Buddhism
• Sri Lanka
• Tradition

"This collection broadens our understanding of what Engaged Buddhism is and what it isn't. The grass-roots movements for peace and justice that arose in the 1950s in India, Tibet, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka were termed 'engaged' by monks, laypeople and scholars, who saw their nonviolent methods as expressions of spiritual practice. This volume places these movements alongside the rise of monastic corruption, state-sponsored terrorism, ethnic cleansing and guerrilla theater - all in the name of Buddhism. This book is a valuable synopsis of a new wave of cautionary scholarship." - Christopher Queen, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University, US, and Co-editor of Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia, Engaged Buddhism in the Wes t, an d Action Dharma: New Studies in Engaged Buddhism.

Susan M. Darlington, Hampshire College, USA Mahinda Deegalle, Bath Spa University, United Kingdom Monica Lindberg Falk, Lund University, Sweden Tilman Frasch, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Charles F. Keyes, University of Washington, USA Patrice Ladwig, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany Jonathan Mair, Manchester University, UK John Marston, El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico Donald M. Seekins, Meio University, Japan

Policies and ethics