Buddhism Observed: Travellers, Exiles and Tibetan Dharma in Kathmandu (Anthropology of Asia)

241 Pages·2004·5.01 MB·English

by  Peter Moran

Buddhism Observed
How do contemporary Westerners and Tibetans understand not only what it
means to be ‘Buddhist,’ but what it means to be hailed as one from ‘the West’ or
from ‘Tibet’? This anthropological study examines the encounter between
Western travelers and Tibetan exiles in Bodhanath, on the outskirts of
Kathmandu, Nepal, and analyses the importance of Buddhism in discussions of
political, cultural and religious identity. Moran examines how Tibetans and
Tibetan Buddhism are ‘created’ in the encounters taking place in Bodhanath
and how Western Buddhists come to terms with their imagined, then reified
culture and religion.
Tibetan Buddhism has become Bodhanath’s cultural product par excellence; it is
not only a spectacle for foreign tourists, but a reminder of national-culture for
displaced Tibetans. Special focus is given here to the ways in which Tibetan
Buddhism has been presented as an object to be observed, reflected upon, and
internalized by Western travelers, often at the feet of Tibetan lamas. This study
examines the often invisible assumptions that structure the perception of
Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the practices and narratives through which
Tibetan and Western Buddhist subjects are produced.
Based on extensive field research in Nepal, Buddhism Observed questions trad-
itional assumptions about Buddhism and examines the rarely considered phenomenon
of Western conversions to a non-Western religion. Scholars of anthropology, reli-
gion and cultural studies will find here a refreshing insight into how to approach
‘other’ societies, religions and cultures.
Peter Moranis director of academic programs in Kathmandu for both Trinity
College, USA, and the International Honors Progam, Boston University, USA.
He is also the academic director at the Center for Buddhist Studies at
Kathmandu University.
Anthropology of Asia series
Series Editors: Grant Evans, University of Hong Kong and
Shaun Malarney, International Christian University,
Japan
Asia today is one of the most dynamic regions of the world. The previously predominant image
of ‘timeless peasants’ has given way to the image of fast-paced business people, mass
consumerism and high-rise urban conglomerations. Yet much discourse remains entrenched in
the polarities of ‘East vs. West,’ ‘Tradition vs. Change.’ This series hopes to provide a forum for
anthropological studies which break with such polarities. It will publish titles dealing with
cosmopolitanism, cultural identity, representations, arts and performance. The complexities of
urban Asia, its elites, its political rituals, and its families will also be explored.
Hong Kong Culture, Ritual and Revolution
The Anthropology of a Chinese in Vietnam
Metropolis Shaun Kingsley Malarney
Edited by Grant Evans and Maria Tam
The Ethnography of Vietnam’s
Folk Art Potters of Japan Central Highlanders
Brian Moeran A Historical Contextualization,
1850–1990
Anthropology and Colonialism in
Oscar Salemink
Asia and Oceania
Jan van Bremen and Akitoshi Shimizu Night-time and Sleep in Asia and
the West
Japanese Bosses, Chinese
Exploring the Dark Side of Life
Workers
Edited by Brigitte Steger and Lodewijk Brunt
Power and Control in a Hong Kong
Megastore Chinese Death Rituals in
Wong Heung Wah Singapore
Tong Chee Kiong
The Legend of the Golden Boat
Regulation, Trade and Traders in the Calligraphy and Power in
Borderlands of Laos, Thailand, China Contemporary Chinese Society
and Burma Yuehping Yen
Andrew Walker
Buddhism Observed
Cultural Crisis and Social Travelers, Exiles and Tibetan Dharma
Memory in Kathmandu
Modernity and Identity in Thailand Peter Moran
and Laos
The Tea Ceremony and Women’s
Edited by Shigeharu Tanabe and Charles F.
Empowerment in Modern Japan
Keyes
Bodies Re-Presenting the Past
The Globalization of Chinese Etsuko Kato
Food
Edited by David Y.H. Wu and Sidney C.H.
Cheung
Buddhism Observed
Travelers, Exiles and Tibetan
Dharma in Kathmandu
Peter Moran
First published 2004 by RoutledgeCurzon
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by RoutledgeCurzon
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
RoutledgeCurzon is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2004 Peter Moran
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog for this record has been requested
ISBN 0-203-37944-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-41542-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–32596–X(Print Edition)
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
1 Introduction 1
2 Emanating bodies in the transnational terrain 14
3 Commodities, identities and the aura of the Other 34
4 Monasteries, patrons and the presence of money in a
spiritualized economy 58
5 Talking about monks: discourses of tradition and
productivity 86
6 Identifying narratives: a search for Buddhist subjects and
communities 110
7 Producing (Western) Buddhists 130
8 Dharma and difference: practical discourses 157
9 Tibetan Buddhism: national culture and global treasure 187
Notes 196
Bibliography 212
Index 220

Fig 1 The entrance to the plaza surrounding the Great Chorten of
Bodhanath, 1993
Fig 2 Foreign travellers on the main road of Bodhanath, 1994
Fig 3 Travellers and inexpensive goods for sale, in the plaza surrounding the
Chorten, 1993