Living Buddhism

Mind, Self, and Emotion in a Thai Community

Julia Cassaniti (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

232 Seiten

2015
Cornell University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8014-5671-8 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

In Living Buddhism, Julia Cassaniti explores Buddhist ideas of impermanence, nonattachment, and intention as they are translated into everyday practice in contemporary Thailand. Although most lay people find these philosophical concepts difficult to grasp, Cassaniti shows that people do in fact make an effort to comprehend them and integrate them as guides for their everyday lives. In doing so, she makes a convincing case that complex philosophical concepts are not the sole property of religious specialists and that ordinary lay Buddhists find in them a means for dealing with life's difficulties. More broadly, the book speaks to the ways that culturally informed ideas are part of the psychological processes that we all use to make sense of the world around us.In an approachable first-person narrative style that combines interview and participant-observation material gathered over the course of two years in the community, Cassaniti shows how Buddhist ideas are understood, interrelated, and reinforced through secular and religious practices in everyday life. She compares the emotional experiences of Buddhist villagers with religious and cultural practices in a nearby Christian village. Living Buddhism highlights the importance of change, calmness (as captured in the Thai phrase jai yen, or a cool heart), and karma; Cassaniti's narrative untangles the Thai villagers' feelings and problems and the solutions they seek.

Julia Cassaniti is Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Washington State University.

Prologue

Introduction: A World of ChangePart I. Emotion

1. Cool Hearts

2. HeatPart II. Attachment

3. Letting Go

4. Holding OnPart III. Karma

5. Cause and Effect

Conclusion: Acting ApartGlossary

References

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	18.12.2015
Zusatzinfo	9 Halftones, black and white
Verlagsort	Ithaca
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
ISBN-10	0-8014-5671-1 / 0801456711
ISBN-13	978-0-8014-5671-8 / 9780801456718
Zustand	Neuware