Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia

Introduction: 'Buddhist Politics' as Emptiness: History and the Forms of Engagement in Asia; Pattana Kitiarsa and John Whalen-Bridge PART I: DEPENDENT ORIGINATIONS AND CHANGING DESTINATIONS 1. Buddhists Confront the State; Charles F. Keyes 2. 'Foremost among Religions': Theravada Buddhism's Affairs with the Modern Sri Lankan State; Mahinda Deegalle 3. Schools, Ritual Economies and the Expanding State: The Changing Roles of Lao Buddhist Monks as 'Traditional Intellectuals'; Patrice Ladwig PART II: THE POLITICAL ROLE OF SACRED THINGS 4. After Pol Pot: Cambodia and the Building of a New Stupa; John Amos Marston 5. The Relic and the Rule of Righteousness: Reflections on U Nu's Dhammavijaya; Tilman Frasch 6. Sacred Site or Public Space? The Shwedagon Pagoda in Colonial Rangoon; Donald Seekins PART III: MONKS, NUNS, AND…TREES 7. Angry Monk Syndrome on the World Stage: Tibet, Engaged Buddhism, and the Weapons of the Weak; John Whalen-Bridge 8. Rebirth Control: Contemporary Inner Mongolian Buddhism and the Religious Authority of the Chinese State; Jonathan Mair 9. Do Buddhist 'Nuns' Need the Thai Sangha?; Monica Lindberg Falk 10. Sacred Protests and Buddhist Environmental Knowledge; Susan M. Darlington Index