Nirvana for Sale?
eBook - PDF

Nirvana for Sale?

Buddhism, Wealth, and the Dhammakāya Temple in Contemporary Thailand

  1. 256 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Nirvana for Sale?

Buddhism, Wealth, and the Dhammakāya Temple in Contemporary Thailand

About this book

Explores the relationship between material prosperity and spirituality in contemporary Thai Buddhism.

What is the proper relationship between religion and prosperity? Rachelle M. Scott looks at this issue in a Thai Buddhist context, asking when the relationship between Buddhist piety and wealth is viewed in favorable terms and when it is viewed in terms of conflict and tension. Scott focuses on the Dhammak?ya Temple, an organization that has placed traditional Therav?da practices, such as meditation and merit-making, within a modernist framework that encourages personal and social prosperity. The Temple's construction of a massive religious monument in the late 1990s embodied this message, but also sparked criticism of the Temple's wealth and fund-raising techniques and engendered debates over authentic Buddhism and religious authority. Scott situates this controversy within the context of postmodern Thailand and the Asian economic crisis when reevaluations of wealth, global capitalism, and "Asian values" occupied a preeminent place in Thai public discourse.

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Yes, you can access Nirvana for Sale? by Rachelle M. Scott in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Asian History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Nirvana for Sale?
  2. Contents
  3. List of Illustrations
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Note on Transliteration and Terminology
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. Buddhism, Renunciation,and Prosperity
  8. 2. Modernity, Prosperity, and the Dhammakāya Temple
  9. 3. The Mahathammakai Chedi and Postmodern Merit Making
  10. 4. The Dhammakāya Controversy:Wealth, Piety, and Authority
  11. 5. Consumerism and Commercialization of Buddhism
  12. Conclusion
  13. Notes
  14. Bibliography
  15. Index