Monks Merit And Motivation

A contribution to the RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism series, which offers a comprehensive study of the Buddhist tradition Buddhologists are often vague about the methodological foundation on which they base their theories about the origin and development of Buddhism. This book seeks to address this issue by opening a discussion about how we seek to explain the origins of Buddhism This discussion is also of importance to the study of the history of religions in general, where there is likely a similar lack of consciousness about the origins of Christianity, Judaism and Islam Will be of interest to specialists in Buddhist studies and Indology in general. It will also interest a wider readership in the academic study of religion due to the fundamental questions that it addresses May cause some controversy and debate owing to the fact that it applies social psychological theory to the study of classical texts

This study examines the role of Buddhist monks as development agents in rural Thailand. Through 20 years of field studies, and with a focus on Northeast Thailand (which is known as Isan and long classified as the poorest region of Thailand), author Pinit Lapthananon investigates development in contemporary Thailand. Although development monks form a small percentage of the monks in Isan, or in Thailand as a whole, their actions have been highly visible in Thai society for more than five decades, and they have helped to maintain a balance between modernization and traditional culture. The book examines the role of Buddhism, investigates religious and socioeconomic activities, and probes the changing approach to development - with an emphasis on economic growth to support both social and human development, self-sufficiency, community participation and empowerment, and the revitalization of traditional knowledge and folk wisdom. The Role of Development Monks in Northeast Thailand will help in understanding the process of development and social change in Isan society. (Series: Kyoto Area Studies on Asia - Vol. 22)

This book is a detailed study on the ascetic forest monk tradition in the Lao-speaking provinces of northeastern Thailand in the wake of the early twentieth century politico-religious reforms. The narrative alternates between the periphery and the capital, dealing with historic transformations and persistencies in the social field of wandering forest monks as well as the contemporary impact of this monastic tradition in the wider social and political milieu. The writer uses original ethnographic materials and provides a rare insight into the formation of monastic lineages and the local politico-religious histories of present-day northeastern Thailand.

This book studies the interaction of the Sangha (the community of monks) with politics and socio-political change in Thailand. Although the interaction of Buddhism and politics is recognized, it is seldom acknowledged and frequently denied. This paradox derives from two deeply rooted notions: first, that politics is "the dirtiest business" second, that only "pure" Buddhism and a "sound" Sangha can ensure the moral welfare of the nation, and their preservation in unadulterated form is critical for the survival of national unity.

Buddhist monasteries in medieval China employed a variety of practices to ensure their ascendancy and survival. Most successful was the exchange of material goods for salvation, as in the donation of land, which allowed monks to spread their teachings throughout China. By investigating a variety of socioeconomic spaces produced and perpetuated by Chinese monasteries, Michael J. Walsh reveals the "sacred economies" that shaped early Buddhism and its relationship with consumption and salvation. Centering his study on Tiantong, a Buddhist monastery that has thrived for close to seventeen centuries in southeast China, Walsh follows three main topics: the spaces monks produced, within and around which a community could pursue a meaningful existence; the social and economic avenues through which monasteries provided diverse sacred resources and secured the primacy of Buddhist teachings within an agrarian culture; and the nature of "transactive" participation within monastic spaces, which later became a fundamental component of a broader Chinese religiosity. Unpacking these sacred economies and repositioning them within the history of religion in China, Walsh encourages a different approach to the study of Chinese religion, emphasizing the critical link between religious exchange and the production of material culture.