Studying Buddhism in Practice

Front Cover
John S. Harding
Routledge, Jun 17, 2013 - Religion - 200 pages

This book introduces the rich realities of the Buddhist tradition and the academic approaches through which they are studied. Based on personal experiences of Buddhism on the ground, it provides a reflective context within which religious practices can be understood and appreciated. The engaging narratives cover a broad range of Buddhist countries and traditions, drawing on fieldwork to explore topics such as ordination, pilgrimage, funerals, gender roles, and film-making. All the entries provide valuable contextual discussion and are accompanied by photographs and suggestions for further reading.

 

Contents

List of illustrations
Acknowledgments
how one woman became king
a study of the study of Buddhism
Voice and gender in Vietnamese Buddhist practice
Theravāda Buddhist funerals
images of a Sri Lankan culture hero
developing new skills
Encounters with Jizōsan in an aging Japan
Amitābhas birthday and liberation of life
notes on a secretive Shin Buddhist
The insides and outsides of a Tibetan Buddhist ritual on
crosscultural journeys
Index
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2013)

John S. Harding received his PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is Associate Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. His books include Introduction to the Study of Religion with Hillary P. Rodrigues (2008) and Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada with Victor Sogen Hori and Alexander Soucy (2010).

Bibliographic information