John Clifford Holt is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Humanities in Religion and Asian Studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
關鍵詞
Buddha image; Buddha relics; ordination; merit-making; family; public processions; Buddhist monks; Buddhist laity; New Year; ancestor veneration
摘要
This is a study of very popular ritual celebrations observed by Buddhist monks and laity in each of the predominantly Theravada Buddhist cultures in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.) The theoretical approach deployed and guides the reader through the distinctiveness of each culture is comparative in nature, and the basic premise that angles the inquiry is that widely observed public rites common to each religious culture reflect the nature of social, economic and political change occurring more broadly in society. Instead of ascertaining how religious ideas have impacted the ideals of government or ethical practice, this study focuses on how important changes, or shifts in the trajectories of society impact the character of religious cultures. In each of the five chapters that focus specifically on a given rite of great public importance, an historical, political or social context is provided in some detail. As such, this volume can be read effectively as one volume introduction to the practice of Theravada Buddhism and the nature of social change in contemporary Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
目次
Front Matter Copyright Page Dedication Preface and Acknowledgments Maps Introduction
One Phra Bang: Venerating the Buddha Image in Lao Religious Culture Two Asala Perahara: Powers of the Buddha’s Tooth-Relic in Sri Lanka Three Upasampada and Pabbajja: Ordination in Thai Buddhist Contexts Four KathinaMaking Merit in Modern Myanmar Five Pchum BenCaring for the Dead Ritually in Cambodia
End Matter Appendix 1 The Dalada Sirita: An Extract1 Appendix 2 Randoli Perahara Appendix 3 Wat Phnom Appendix 4 The Feast of the Offering to the Dead Notes Bibliography Index
