Saving Buddhism explores the dissonance between the goals of the colonial state and the Buddhist worldview that animated Burmese Buddhism at the turn of the twentieth century. For many Burmese; the salient and ordering discourse was not nation or modernity but sÄsana; the life of the Buddha’s teachings. Burmese Buddhists interpreted the political and social changes between 1890 and 1920 as signs that the Buddha’s sÄsana was deteriorating. This fear of decline drove waves of activity and organizing to prevent the loss of the Buddha’s teachings. Burmese set out to save Buddhism; but achieved much more: they took advantage of the indeterminacy of the moment to challenge the colonial frameworks that were beginning to shape their world. Author Alicia Turner has examined thousands of rarely used sources-- newspapers and Buddhist journals; donation lists; and colonial reports―to trace three discourses set in motion by the colonial encounter: the evolving understanding of sÄsana as an orienting framework for change; the adaptive modes of identity made possible in the moral community; and the ongoing definition of religion as a site of conflict and negotiation of autonomy. Beginning from an understanding that defining and redefining the boundaries of religion operated as a key technique of colonial power―shaping subjects through European categories and authorizing projects of colonial governmentality―she explores how Burmese Buddhists became actively engaged in defining and inflecting religion to shape their colonial situation and forward their own local projects.Saving Buddhism intervenes not just in scholarly conversations about religion and colonialism; but in theoretical work in religious studies on the categories of “religion†and “secular.†It contributes to ongoing studies of colonialism; nation; and identity in Southeast Asian studies by working to denaturalize nationalist histories. It also engages conversations on millennialism and the construction of identity in Buddhist studies by tracing the fluid nature of sÄsana as a discourse. The layers of Buddhist history that emerge challenge us to see multiple modes of identity in colonial modernity and offer insights into the instabilities of categories we too often take for granted.
#352722 in Books University of Hawaii Press 2004-09-30 2004-09-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .64 x 5.98l; .99 #File Name: 0824828704280 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A fascinating academic readBy E. BoydstunThis academic text includes primary sources; the translations of the letters (10) of Eshinni (1182-1268?) a woman of medieval Japan. The letters were discovered in 1921. I was anticipating more letters; however; it is amazing that they exist at all. The text is an exploration of actual living conditions in 13th century Japan. It is an excellent resource for students of Buddhism; Japanese history; and thew role women played in medieval Japan.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Annette Tashirothe book was a recommended reading. Enjoying the read.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The woman who didn't listen to other men.By Margaret M. ElwellI have been studying Jodo Shin Shu Buddhism for eight years and Dr. Dobbins uses all his research and puts the medieval women in Japan in a clarified spot-light. Easy reading and very informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Japanese history and Buddhism.
