1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910457104503321

Autore

Cadge Wendy

Titolo

Heartwood [[electronic resource] ] : the first generation of Theravada Buddhism  in America / / Wendy Cadge

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago ; ; London, : University of Chicago Press, 2004

ISBN

1-282-42620-6

9786612426209

0-226-08901-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (279 p.)

Collana

Morality and society series

Disciplina

294.3/91/0973

Soggetti

Theravāda Buddhism - United States - History - 20th century

Southeast Asian Americans - Religious life

Buddhist converts - Religious life - United States

Buddhist centers - United States - History

Electronic books.

Southeast Asia Religion

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [246]-262) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Note on Terminology -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Arrivals and a Map of the Journey -- 2. The History of Theravada Buddhism in America -- 3. New Organizations:Wat Mongkoltepmunee (Wat Phila) and the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (cimc) -- 4. Lived Buddhism: The Construction of Teaching and Practice at Wat Phila and cimc -- 5. Refuge in the Sangha: The Shape of Buddhist Communities -- 6. Ascribed and Achieved Buddhist Identities -- 7. Observations through a Gendered Lens -- 8. Taking Stock, Looking Forward -- Appendix A. Research Methods -- Appendix B. Refuges and Precepts -- Notes -- Reference List -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Theravada is one of the three main branches of Buddhism. In Asia it is practiced widely in Thailand, Laos, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. This fascinating ethnography opens a window onto two communities of Theravada Buddhists in contemporary America: one outside Philadelphia that is composed largely of Thai immigrants and one outside Boston that consists mainly of white converts. Wendy Cadge



first provides a historical overview of Theravada Buddhism and considers its specific origins here in the United States. She then brings her findings to bear on issues of personal identity, immigration, cultural assimilation, and the nature of religion in everyday life. Her work is the first systematic comparison of the ways in which immigrant and convert Buddhists understand, practice, and adapt the Buddhist tradition in America. The men and women whom Cadge meets and observes speak directly to us in this work, both in their personal testimonials and as they meditate, pray, and practice Buddhism. Creative and insightful, Heartwood will be of enormous value to sociologists of religion and anyone wishing to understand the rise of Buddhism in the Western world.