Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth-century Asia

Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth-century Asia
Author: Ian Christopher Harris
Publisher: Burns & Oates
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1999
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

"It has become customary for Westerners to view Buddhism as an otherworldly and introspective religion. By examining the important issues of left-right divisions in the monastic order, the rise of organized lay movements and Buddhist social activism, as well as explicitly Buddhist-inspired political activity, this volume seeks to demonstrate that the emphasis on meditation and mental training is only one strand in this richly complex world-historical tradition."--BOOK JACKET.

Cold War Monks

Cold War Monks
Author: Eugene Ford
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2017-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300218567

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- One: The Buddhist World and the United States at the Onset of the Cold War, 1941-1954 -- Two: Washington Formulates a Buddhist Policy, 1954-1957 -- Three: Thailand and the International Buddhist Arena, 1956-1962 -- Four: Reforming the Monks: The Cold War and Clerical Education in Thailand and Laos, 1954-1961 -- Five: Thailand and the International Response to the 1963 Buddhist Crisis in South Vietnam -- Six: Enforcing the Code: South Vietnam's "Struggle Movement" and the Limits of Thai Buddhist Conservatism -- Seven: Thailand's Buddhist Hierarchy Confronts Its Challengers, 1967-1975 -- Eight: The Rage of Thai Buddhism, 1975-1980 -- Conclusion: From Byoto to Kittivudho -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z

Buddhism, Power and Political Order

Buddhism, Power and Political Order
Author: Ian Harris
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2007-06-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1134129467

Weber's claim that Buddhism is an otherworldly religion is only partially true. Early sources indicate that the Buddha was sometimes diverted from supramundane interests to dwell on a variety of politically-related matters. The significance of Asoka Maurya as a paradigm for later traditions of Buddhist kingship is also well-attested. However, there has been little scholarly effort to integrate findings on the extent to which Buddhism interacted with the political order in the classical and modern states of Theravada Asia into a wider, comparative study. This volume brings together the brightest minds in the study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Their contributions create a more coherent account of the relations between Buddhism and political order in the late pre-modern and modern period by questioning the contested relationship between monastic and secular power. In doing so, they expand the very nature of what is known as the 'Theravada'. Buddhism, Power and Political Order offers new insights for scholars of Buddhism, and it will stimulate new debates.

Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth Century Asia

Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth Century Asia
Author: Ian Harris
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2010-07-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441167714

In this study, a team of international scholars assess the manner in which Buddhist organizations and individuals have resisted, come to terms with, or in some cases allied themselves with the forces of war, modernity, westernization, nationalization, capitalism, communism, and ethnic conflict. By examining issues such as left-right divisions in the monastic order, the rise of organized lay movements, Buddhist social activism, as well as explicitly Buddhist inspired political activity, this book seeks to demonstrate that the emphasis on meditation and mental training is only one strand in this richly complex world historical tradition.

Buddhism Across Asia

Buddhism Across Asia
Author: Tansen Sen
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Total Pages: 517
Release: 2014-04-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9814519324

"Buddhism across Asia is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and spread of Buddhism in Asia. It comprises a rich collection of articles written by leading experts in their fields. Together, the contributions provide an in-depth analysis of Buddhist history and transmission in Asia over a period of more than 2000 years. Aspects examined include material culture, politics, economy, languages and texts, religious institutions, practices and rituals, conceptualisations, and philosophy, while the geographic scope of the studies extends from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Readers' knowledge of Buddhism is constantly challenged by the studies presented, incorporating new materials and interpretations. Rejecting the concept of a reified monolithic and timeless 'Buddhism', this publication reflects the entangled 'dynamic and multi-dimensional' history of Buddhism in Asia over extended periods of 'integration,' 'development of multiple centres,' and 'European expansion,' which shaped the religion's regional and trans-regional identities." -- Max Deeg, Cardiff University "Buddhism Across Asia presents new research on Buddhism in comprehensive spatial and temporal terms. From studies on transmission networks to exegesis on doctrinal matters, linguistics, rituals and practices, institutions, Buddhist libraries, and the religion's interactions with political and cultural spheres as well as the society at large, the volume presents an assemblage of essays of breathtaking breadth and depth. The goal is to demonstrate how the transmission of Buddhist ideas serves as a cultural force, a lynchpin that had connected the societies of Asia from past to present. The volume manifests the vitality and maturity of the field of Buddhist studies, and for that we thank the editor and the erudite authors. " -- Dorothy C. Wong, University of Virginia

Buddhism and Human Rights

Buddhism and Human Rights
Author: Wayne R. Husted
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136603107

It is difficult to think of a more urgent question for Buddhism in the late twentieth century than human rights. The political, ethical and philosophical questions surrounding human rights are debated vigorously in political and intellectual circles throughout the world and now in this volume.

Saving Buddhism

Saving Buddhism
Author: Alicia Marie Turner
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2014
Genre: Buddhism and politics
ISBN: 9780824869571

This work explores the dissonance between the goals of the colonial state and the Buddhist worldview that animated Burmese Buddhism at the turn of the twentieth century. Alicia Turner traces three discourses set in motion by the colonial encounter: the evolving understanding of ssana as an orienting framework for change, the adaptive modes of identity made possible in the moral community, and the definition of religion as a site of conflict and negotiation of autonomy.

The Huayan University Network

The Huayan University Network
Author: Erik J. Hammerstrom
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0231550758

In the early twentieth century, Chinese Buddhists sought to strengthen their tradition through publications, institution building, and initiatives aimed at raising the educational level of the monastic community. In The Huayan University Network, Erik J. Hammerstrom examines how Huayan Buddhism was imagined, taught, and practiced during this time of profound political and social change and, in so doing, recasts the history of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. Hammerstrom traces the influence of Huayan University, the first Buddhist monastic school founded after the fall of the imperial system in China. Although the university lasted only a few years, its graduates went on to establish a number of Huayan-centered educational programs throughout China. While they did not create a new sectarian Huayan movement, they did form a network unified by a common educational heritage that persists to the present day. Drawing on an extensive range of Buddhist texts and periodicals, Hammerstrom shows that Huayan had a significant impact on Chinese Buddhist thought and practice and that the history of Huayan complicates narratives of twentieth-century Buddhist modernization and revival. Offering a wide range of insights into the teaching and practice of Huayan in Republican China, this book sheds new light on an essential but often overlooked element of the East Asian Buddhist tradition.