Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia - Softcover

Prebish, Charles S.; Baumann, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520234901 ISBN 13: 9780520234901

Publisher: University of California Press, 2002

Synopsis

The first authoritative volume on the totality of Buddhism in the West, Westward Dharma establishes a comparative and theoretical perspective for considering the amazing variety of Buddhist traditions, schools, centers, and teachers that have developed outside of Asia. Leading scholars from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia explore the plurality and heterogeneity of traditions and practices that are characteristic of Buddhism in the West.

This recent, dramatic growth in Western Buddhism is accompanied by an expansion of topics and issues of Buddhist concern. The contributors to this volume treat such topics as the broadening spirit of egalitarianism; the increasing emphasis on the psychological, as opposed to the purely religious, nature of practice; scandals within Buddhist movements; the erosion of the distinction between professional and lay Buddhists; Buddhist settlement in Israel; the history of Buddhism in internment camps; repackaging Zen for the West; and women's dharma in the West. The interconnections of historical and theoretical approaches in the volume make it a rich, multi-layered resource.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"Like seeds on the wind, Buddhist teachings continue to reach new lands. This outstanding book brings to light, in rich detail, the current flowering of Buddhism in the West. Long a world religion, Buddhism is now a global one."―Kenneth Kraft, author of The Wheel of Engaged Buddhism

"Westward Dharma deserves a place on the growing bookshelf of contemporary Buddhist studies. Prebish and Baumann broaden our horizons from North America to the wider Western world, exploring key aspects of Buddhism's most recent geographical and cultural expansion."―Paul David Numrich, coauthor of Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America.

About the Author

Charles S. Prebish is Professor of Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University and author and editor of numerous works, including Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (California, 1999), A Survey of Vinaya Literature (1994), and American Buddhism (1979). He is coeditor of The Faces of Buddhism in America (California, 1998) and the electronic Journal of Buddhist Ethics. Martin Baumann is Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, and research fellow in the Department of Religious Studies at Hannover University, Germany. He is the author of Diaspora: Hindus and Trinidad (2002), Migration, Religion, Integration (2000), and Deutsche Buddhisten: Geschichte and Gemeinschaften (1993). He is also coeditor of Religions fo the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (2002). Prebish and Buamann are coeditors of the electronic Journal of Global Buddhism (http://www.globalbuddhism.org).

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0520234901
• ISBN 13: 9780520234901
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 388