Asian Research

Revolutionaries and Reformers in Lao Buddhism

By Patrice Ladwig

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Laos remains one of the few officially socialist countries in the world. Once a Buddhist kingdom, its involvement into the Vietnam War, the communist revolution of 1975 and the subsequent introduction of reformed socialism have deeply affected Buddhism, the religion of the ethnic majority. With a...

To Be Published February 27th 2014 by Routledge

Women in Pali Buddhism

Walking the Spiritual Paths in Mutual Dependence

By Pascale Engelmajer

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

The Pali tradition presents a diverse and often contradictory picture of women. This book examines women’s roles as they are described in the Pali canon and its commentaries. Taking into consideration the wider socio-religious context – drawing from early brahmanical literature and epigraphical...

To Be Published March 14th 2014 by Routledge

Engendering the Buddhist State

Reconstructions of Cambodian History

By Ashley Thompson

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Drawing from more than a decade of field and archival research, this monograph concerns Cambodian history and historiography, with an ultimate aim to broadening and deepening bases for understanding the Cambodian Theravadin politico-cultural complex. The book takes the form of an interdisciplinary...

To Be Published January 30th 2014 by Routledge

Tibetan Buddhism

A Foundation Course

By Cathy Cantwell, Robert Mayer

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

This book is an introduction to important themes in Tibetan Buddhism. It does not require any prior knowledge about Buddhism as the early chapters discuss aspects of general Buddhism which are taken up and may be elaborated or reinterpreted in Tibetan Buddhism. Nevertheless, recent scholarship and...

To Be Published December 31st 2013 by Routledge

Ethical Practice, Religious Reform, and the Buddhist Art of Living in Nepal

Seeing Things as They Are

By Lauren Leve

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Theravada has experienced a powerful and far-reaching revival, especially among the Newar Buddhist laity, many of whom are reorganizing their lives according to its precepts, practices and ideals. This book documents these far-reaching social and personal transformations and links them to...

To Be Published December 30th 2013 by Routledge

The Spread of Tibetan Buddhism in China

Charisma, Money, Enlightenment

By Dan Smyer Yu

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Focusing on contemporary Tibetan Buddhist revivals in the Tibetan regions of the Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces in China, this book explores the intricate entanglements of the Buddhist revivals with cultural identity, state ideology, and popular imagination of Tibetan Buddhist spirituality in...

Published September 28th 2011 by Routledge

Buddhist and Christian?

An Exploration of Dual Belonging

By Rose Drew

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

The last century witnessed a gradual but profound transformation of the West's religious landscape. In today's context of diversity, people are often influenced by, and sometimes even claim to belong to, more than one religious tradition. Buddhism and Christianity is a particularly prevalent and...

Published July 10th 2011 by Routledge

Buddhist Practice and Visual Culture

The Visual Rhetoric of Borobudur

By Julie Gifford

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Providing an overall interpretation of the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Indonesia, this book looks at Mahayana Buddhist religious ideas and practices that could have informed Borobudur, including both the narrative reliefs and the Buddha images. The author explores a version of the classical...

Published March 13th 2011 by Routledge

Buddhism in Australia

Traditions in Change

Edited by Cristina Rocha, Michelle Barker

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

The number of Buddhists in Australia has grown dramatically in recent years. In 2006, Buddhists accounted for 2.1 per cent of Australia's population, almost doubling the 1996 figures, and making it the fastest growing religion in the country. This book analyses the arrival and localisation of...

Published December 6th 2010 by Routledge

Tibetan Rituals of Death

Buddhist Funerary Practices

By Margaret Gouin

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

This book describes and analyses the structure and performance of Tibetan Buddhist death rituals, and situates that performance within the wider context of Buddhist death practices generally. Drawing on a detailed and systematic comparative survey of existing records of Tibetan funerary practices,...

Published June 16th 2010 by Routledge

Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia

Places of Practice

Edited by James A. Benn, Lori Meeks, James Robson

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

The area of Buddhist monasticism has long attracted the interest of Buddhist studies scholars and historians, but the interpretation of the nature and function of monasteries across diverse cultures and vast historical periods remains a focus for debate. This book provides a multifaceted discussion...

Published July 8th 2009 by Routledge

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures

Knowledge, Ritual, and Art

Edited by Stephen C. Berkwitz, Juliane Schober, Claudia Brown

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures explores how religious and cultural practices in premodern Asia were shaped by literary and artistic traditions as well as by Buddhist material culture. This study of Buddhist texts focuses on the significance of their material forms rather than their doctrinal contents...

Published December 17th 2008 by Routledge

Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahayana Buddhism

The Gandavyuha-sutra

By Douglas Osto

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

This book examines the concepts of power, wealth and women in the important Mahayana Buddhist scripture known as the Gandavyuha-sutra, and relates these to the text’s social context in ancient Indian during the Buddhist Middle Period (0–500 CE). Employing contemporary textual theory, worldview...

Published December 3rd 2008 by Routledge

Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet

By Frances Garrett

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

This book explores the cultural history of embryology in Tibet, in culture, religion, art and literature, and what this reveals about its medicine and religion. Filling a significant gap in the literature this is the first in-depth exploration of Tibetan medical history in the English language. It...

Published April 24th 2008 by Routledge

The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism

Attuning the Dharma

By Francesca Tarocco

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Buddhism in China during the late Qing and Republican period remained a powerful cultural and religious force. Francesca Tarocco is a rising star in this field and offers an innovative high-quality piece of work that presents a new perspective on the influence of Buddhism on Chinese culture....

Published December 20th 2007 by Routledge

Mindfulness in Early Buddhism

New Approaches through Psychology and Textual Analysis of Pali, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources

By Tse-fu Kuan

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

This book identifies what is meant by sati (smrti), usually translated as ‘mindfulness’, in early Buddhism, and examines its soteriological functions and its central role in the early Buddhist practice and philosophy. Using textual analysis and criticism, it takes new approaches to the...

Published December 19th 2007 by Routledge

Environmental Ethics in Buddhism

A Virtues Approach

By Pragati Sahni

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Environmental Ethics in Buddhism presents a logical and thorough examination of the metaphysical and ethical dimensions of early Buddhist literature. The author determines the meaning of nature in the early Buddhist context from general Buddhist teachings on dhamma, paticcasamuppada, samsara and...

Published August 16th 2007 by Routledge

Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth

Contemporary Sri Lankan Practice and Its Origins

By Rita Langer

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

In Buddhist thought and practice, death has always been a central concept. This book provides a careful and thorough analysis of the rituals and social customs surrounding death in the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka. Rita Langer describes the rituals of death and rebirth and investigates their...

Published July 15th 2007 by Routledge

Buddhism, Power and Political Order

Edited by Ian Harris

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

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...

Published May 29th 2007 by Routledge