Buddhist Monks; Buddhist Philosophy; Religion; Scholars
摘要
This article charts the career of U Dhammaloka, an Irish working-class sailor turned Buddhist monk, in the context of colonial Burma. Focusing on his popularity with the Burmese laity as a preacher and his conflicts with colonial authorities, it considers what scholars of Buddhism can learn from Dhammaloka's remarkable career. It argues that for all the challenges he mounted to the Christian missionaries, middle-class Buddhists and the colonial state alike, Dhammaloka poses an equal challenge to contemporary scholars, forcing us to reconsider the motivations and meanings of European Buddhist converts at the turn of the twentieth century. The article examines the multiple modes of perceiving Buddhism and interacting with Buddhists in Asia available to Europeans at the turn of the twentieth century, challenging scholars to rethink how the colonial divide might have been reconceived or bridged by these interactions.
目次
Dhammaloka’s precipitous rise to fame: November 1900–May 1901 151 Creating networks and institutional support: December 1901– September 1902 156 Dhammaloka’s career in Burma: 1907–1911 159 Dhammaloka as preacher: challenges of cultural translation 162 Dhammaloka in Rangoon civic life: challenges to the Burmese elite 164 Dhammaloka as provocateur: challenges to the colonial state 164 Dhammaloka as plebeian monk: challenges for scholars of religion 165 Acknowledgements 167 Notes 167 References 170
