Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal

by Sarah LeVine, David N. Gellner

Overview

Rebuilding Buddhism describes in evocative detail the experiences and achievements of Nepalis who have adopted Theravada Buddhism. This form of Buddhism was introduced into Nepal from Burma and Sri Lanka in the 1930s, and its adherents have struggled for recognition and acceptance ever since. With its focus on the austere figure of the monk and the biography of the historical Buddha, and more recently with its emphasis on individualizing meditation and on gender equality, Theravada Buddhism contrasts sharply with the highly ritualized Tantric Buddhism traditionally practiced in the Kathmandu Valley.

Based on extensive fieldwork, interviews, and historical reconstruction, the book provides a rich portrait of the different ways of being a Nepali Buddhist over the past seventy years. At the same time it explores the impact of the Theravada movement and what its gradual success has meant for Buddhism, for society, and for men and women in Nepal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674025547
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	394
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sarah LeVine is Research Associate in Human Development and Psychology, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

David N. Gellner is Lecturer in the Social Anthropology of South Asia, University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Introduction: The Origins of Modernist Buddhism

2. Theravada Missionaries in an Autocratic State

3. Creating a Tradition

4. Charisma and Education: Dhammawati and the Nuns' Order after 1963

5. The Changing Buddhist Laity

6. Organizing and Educating the Monastic Community

7. Raising the Status of Nuns: The Controversy over Bhikkhuni Ordination

8. Winds of Change: Meditation and Social Activism

9. Other Buddhist Revivalisms: Tibetan "Mahayana" and Newar "Vajrayana"

10. Conclusion: Nepal's Theravadins in the Twenty-First Century

Appendix 1: Dramatis Personae

Appendix 2: Complete List of Theravada Viharas in Nepal

Glossary

Notes

References

Index

What People are Saying About This

Lucidly and engagingly written, Rebuilding Buddhism is the first in-depth and sociologically sophisticated study of the Theravada revival in Nepal, whose Buddhism before the twentieth century was wholly Mahayanist. Its careful description and analysis of social, cultural, economic and above all gender dynamics make it required reading for anyone interested in Buddhism in the contemporary world, and recommended for anyone interested in comparative perspectives on modernity and gender.

Steven Collins

Lucidly and engagingly written, Rebuilding Buddhism is the first in-depth and sociologically sophisticated study of the Theravada revival in Nepal, whose Buddhism before the twentieth century was wholly Mahayanist. Its careful description and analysis of social, cultural, economic and above all gender dynamics make it required reading for anyone interested in Buddhism in the contemporary world, and recommended for anyone interested in comparative perspectives on modernity and gender.

— Steven Collins, University of Chicago

Jan Willis

Accurate information about the Newar Buddhists of Nepal is difficult to come by. LeVine and Gellner's Rebuilding Buddhism makes an important contribution by allowing us to venture inside this multidimensional, yet fairly private, community. In this engaging work, we are introduced to fascinating individuals and to the compelling story of how religious traditions vie for territory and followers. It is therefore a welcome addition to the literature on Nepal and Buddhism.
— Jan Willis, Wesleyan University

Todd Lewis

This is a well-researched and carefully documented study of the modernization of Buddhist traditions in Nepal, one that is centered upon compelling biographies of Nepalese monks and nuns. Through following the arcs of these lives that are skillfully contextualized by the authors, one can discern the various crosscurrents at work in the religious field in Kathmandu throughout the twentieth century. The ethnography is rich and important for the fields of Nepalese studies, religious modernization, gender studies and Buddhist studies.

— Todd Lewis, College of the Holy Cross

Editorial Reviews

This is a well-researched and carefully documented study of the modernization of Buddhist traditions in Nepal, one that is centered upon compelling biographies of Nepalese monks and nuns. Through following the arcs of these lives that are skillfully contextualized by the authors, one can discern the various crosscurrents at work in the religious field in Kathmandu throughout the twentieth century. The ethnography is rich and important for the fields of Nepalese studies, religious modernization, gender studies and Buddhist studies.

Todd Lewis

Lucidly and engagingly written, Rebuilding Buddhism is the first in-depth and sociologically sophisticated study of the Theravada revival in Nepal, whose Buddhism before the twentieth century was wholly Mahayanist. Its careful description and analysis of social, cultural, economic and above all gender dynamics make it required reading for anyone interested in Buddhism in the contemporary world, and recommended for anyone interested in comparative perspectives on modernity and gender.

Steven Collins

Accurate information about the Newar Buddhists of Nepal is difficult to come by. LeVine and Gellner's Rebuilding Buddhism makes an important contribution by allowing us to venture inside this multidimensional, yet fairly private, community. In this engaging work, we are introduced to fascinating individuals and to the compelling story of how religious traditions vie for territory and followers. It is therefore a welcome addition to the literature on Nepal and Buddhism.

Jan Willis

[The authors’] careful research and thoughtful analysis focus on the perceptible life of this movement in society, rather than doctrines or ideas. As such, this study of the contrasts and occasional conflicts between the growing Theravada movement and the established tantric tradition reveals much about the dynamic life of Buddhism in a changing world.

Buddhadharma