The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second EditionAn unparalleled portrait, Donald K. Swearer's Buddhist World of Southeast Asia has been a key source for all those interested in the Theravada homelands since the work's publication in 1995. Expanded and updated, the second edition offers this wide ranging account for readers at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Swearer shows Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia to be a dynamic, complex system of thought and practice embedded in the cultures, societies, and histories of Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. The work focuses on three distinct yet interrelated aspects of this milieu. The first is the popular tradition of life models personified in myths and legends, rites of passage, festival celebrations, and ritual occasions. The second deals with Buddhism and the state, illustrating how King Asoka serves as the paradigmatic Buddhist monarch, discussing the relationship of cosmology and kingship, and detailing the rise of charismatic Buddhist political leaders in the postcolonial period. The third is the modern transformation of Buddhism: the changing roles of monks and laity, modern reform movements, the role of women, and Buddhism in the West. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Achan Angkor Asian Asoka Bangkok benefit bhikkhuni Buddha image Buddhist monks Buddhist Publication Society Burma Burmese Cambodia celebration century ceremony chant chap Chiang chronicles conflict consecration cosmology cult cultural defined dhamma dhist edited Ethics festival first five forest Hawai‘i Press History Honolulu ideal influence Institute interpretation Keyes Khmer kingship Kitthiwuttho laity Laos London Mahasi Mahasi Sayadaw meditation modern monarch monastery monastic order moral movement Myanmar nibbana northern Thai northern Thailand ofBuddhism ofthe ordination Pagan Pali canon Pali Text paritta Payutto Phra political practice reflects relics religion religious rites ritual robes role royal ruler sacred sangha Santi Asok Sarvodaya Sayadaw Siddhattha significance Sinhalese social Southeast Asia specific spiritual Sri Lanka story Studies stupa Sukhothai Sulak Sutta Swearer symbolic Tambiah temple Thai Buddhism Thammakai Thanissaro Bhikkhu Theravada Buddhism tion tradition trans University of Hawai‘i University Press Vessantara village women York