The Anthropology of Buddhism and Hinduism
Author: David N. Gellner
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780195666113
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWith reference to Nepal.
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The Anthropology of Buddhism and Hinduism
Author: David N. Gellner
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 424
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWith reference to Nepal.
Religion and Anthropology
Author: Brian Morris
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2006
Total Pages: 370
ISBN-13: 9780521852418
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis important textbook provides a critical introduction to the social anthropology of religion, focusing on more recent classical ethnographies. Comprehensive, free of scholastic jargon, engaging, and comparative in approach, it covers all the major religious traditions that have been studied concretely by anthropologists - Shamanism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and its relation to African and Melanesian religions and contemporary Neopaganism. Eschewing a thematic approach and treating religion as a social institution and not simply as an ideology or symbolic system, the book follows the dual heritage of social anthropology in combining an interpretative understanding and sociological analysis. The book will appeal to all students of anthropology, whether established scholars or initiates to the discipline, as well as to students of the social sciences and religious studies, and for all those interested in comparative religion.
The Sacred Town of Sankhu
Author: Bal Gopal Shrestha
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Published: 2012-03-15
Total Pages: 635
ISBN-13: 144383825X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book presents a detailed view of Newar society and culture, and its socio-economic, socio-religious and ritual aspects, concentrating on the Newar town of Sankhu in the Valley of Nepal. The foundation of the town of Sankhu is attributed to the goddess Vajrayoginī, venerated by both Buddhists and Hindus in Nepal and beyond. Myths, history, and topographical details of the town and the sanctuary of the goddess Vajrayoginī and her cult are discussed on the basis of published sources, unpublished chronicles, and inscriptions. The book deals with the relation between Hinduism and Buddhism, with the interrelations between the Newar castes (jāt), caste-bound associations (sī guthi), and above all with the numerous socio-religious associations (guthi) that uphold ritual life of the Newars. All major and minor Newar feasts, festivals, dances, fasts and processions of gods and goddesses are discussed.
Rebuilding Buddhism
Author: Sarah LeVine
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2007-09-30
Total Pages: 406
ISBN-13: 9780674040120
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRebuilding Buddhism describes in evocative detail the experiences and achievements of Nepalis who have adopted Theravada Buddhism. This form of Buddhism was introduced into Nepal from Burma and Sri Lanka in the 1930s, and its adherents have struggled for recognition and acceptance ever since. With its focus on the austere figure of the monk and the biography of the historical Buddha, and more recently with its emphasis on individualizing meditation and on gender equality, Theravada Buddhism contrasts sharply with the highly ritualized Tantric Buddhism traditionally practiced in the Kathmandu Valley. Based on extensive fieldwork, interviews, and historical reconstruction, the book provides a rich portrait of the different ways of being a Nepali Buddhist over the past seventy years. At the same time it explores the impact of the Theravada movement and what its gradual success has meant for Buddhism, for society, and for men and women in Nepal.
Anthropology of Religion: The Basics
Author: James S Bielo
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-04-10
Total Pages: 192
ISBN-13: 1317542827
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAnthropology of Religion: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introductory text organized around key issues that all anthropologists of religion face. This book uses a wide range of historical and ethnographic examples to address not only what is studied by anthropologists of religion, but how such studies are approached. It addresses questions such as: How do human agents interact with gods and spirits? What is the nature of doing religious ethnography? Can the immaterial be embodied in the body, language and material objects? What is the role of ritual, time, and place in religion? Why is charisma important for religious movements? How do global processes interact with religions? With international case studies from a range of religious traditions, suggestions for further reading, and inventive reflection boxes, Anthropology of Religion: The Basics is an essential read for students approaching the subject for the first time.
Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms
Author: Makhan Jha
Publisher: M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Published: 1997
Total Pages: 230
ISBN-13: 9788175330344
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe present volume on Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms is based on an empirical field-work which continued for several years with gaps in between as well as the textual data collected through the library works carried out at Darbhanga, Patna, Calcutta, Ranchi, Nagpur, Raipur, Bilaspur etc. The study of the ancient Hindu Kingdoms reveals, firstly, that different Hindu Kingdoms were the seats of learning, and accelerated several cultural activities binding together the diverse faiths and traditions into one civilizational region.
Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative
Author: Naomi Appleton
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-11-25
Total Pages: 364
ISBN-13: 1317055748
DOWNLOAD EBOOKTaking a comparative approach which considers characters that are shared across the narrative traditions of early Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative explores key religious and social ideals, as well as points of contact, dialogue and contention between different worldviews. The book focuses on three types of character - gods, heroes and kings - that are of particular importance to early South Asian narrative traditions because of their relevance to the concerns of the day, such as the role of deities, the qualities of a true hero or good ruler and the tension between worldly responsibilities and the pursuit of liberation. Characters (incuding character roles and lineages of characters) that are shared between traditions reveal both a common narrative heritage and important differences in worldview and ideology that are developed in interaction with other worldviews and ideologies of the day. As such, this study sheds light on an important period of Indian religious history, and will be essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students working on early South Asian religious or narrative traditions (Jain, Buddhist and Hindu) as well as being of interest more widely in the fields of Religious Studies, Classical Indology, Asian Studies and Literary Studies.
The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity
Author: Chad V. Meister
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 469
ISBN-13: 0195340132
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis substantial volume of thirty-three original chapters covers the full range of issues in religious diversity. An indispensable guide for scholars and students, its essays make novel contributions and are crafted by recognized experts who represent a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives and backgrounds.
Being a Buddhist Nun
Author: Kim Gutschow
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2009-07-01
Total Pages: 356
ISBN-13: 0674038088
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThey may shave their heads, don simple robes, and renounce materialism and worldly desires. But the women seeking enlightenment in a Buddhist nunnery high in the folds of Himalayan Kashmir invariably find themselves subject to the tyrannies of subsistence, subordination, and sexuality. Ultimately, Buddhist monasticism reflects the very world it is supposed to renounce. Butter and barley prove to be as critical to monastic life as merit and meditation. Kim Gutschow lived for more than three years among these women, collecting their stories, observing their ways, studying their lives. Her book offers the first ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist society from the perspective of its nuns. Gutschow depicts a gender hierarchy where nuns serve and monks direct, where monks bless the fields and kitchens while nuns toil in them. Monasteries may retain historical endowments and significant political and social power, yet global flows of capitalism, tourism, and feminism have begun to erode the balance of power between monks and nuns. Despite the obstacles of being considered impure and inferior, nuns engage in everyday forms of resistance to pursue their ascetic and personal goals. A richly textured picture of the little known culture of a Buddhist nunnery, the book offers moving narratives of nuns struggling with the Buddhist discipline of detachment. Its analysis of the way in which gender and sexuality construct ritual and social power provides valuable insight into the relationship between women and religion in South Asia today.
