Nirvana for Sale? : Buddhism, Wealth, and the Dhammakāya Temple in Contemporary Thailand

Scott, Rachelle M.

State University of New York Press（2009/09発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 256 p.／サイズ 31 b/w photos.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781438427843
• DDC分類 294.309593

Full Description

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 Dhammakāya Temple, an organization that has placed traditional Theravāda 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.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration and Terminology

Introduction

1. Buddhism, Renunciation, and Prosperity

2. Modernity, Prosperity, and the Dhammakāya Temple

3. The Mahathammakai Chedi and Postmodern Merit Making

4. The Dhammakāya Controversy: Piety, Wealth, and Authority

5. Consumerism and Commercialization of Buddhism

Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index