Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia: Forms of Engagement

Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Introduction: “Buddhist Politics” as Emptiness: History and the Forms of Engagement in Asia....Pages 1-14
Front Matter....Pages 15-15
Buddhists Confront the State....Pages 17-39
“Foremost among Religions”: Theravada Buddhism’s Affairs with the Modern Sri Lankan State....Pages 41-61
Schools, Ritual Economies, and the Expanding State:The Changing Roles of Lao Buddhist Monks as “Traditional Intellectuals”....Pages 63-91
Front Matter....Pages 93-93
Post-Pol Pot Cambodia and the Building of a New Stupa....Pages 95-113
The Relic and the Rule of Righteousness: Reflections on U Nu’s Dhammavijaya....Pages 115-138
Sacred Site or Public Space? The Shwedagon Pagoda in Colonial Rangoon....Pages 139-159
Front Matter....Pages 161-161
Angry Monk Syndrome on the World Stage: Tibet, Engaged Buddhism, and the Weapons of the Weak....Pages 163-207
Rebirth Control: Contemporary Inner Mongolian Buddhism and the Religious Authority of the Chinese State....Pages 209-228
Do Buddhist “Nuns” Need the Thai Sangha?....Pages 229-244
Sacred Protests and Buddhist Environmental Knowledge....Pages 245-262
Back Matter....Pages 263-277