Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia explores the relationships between Buddhism and various nations in South, Southeast, and East Asia. Rather than promulgating a “Buddhist exceptionalism” in which Buddhist actors and institutions transcend politics, Pattana Kitiarsa and John Whalen-Bridge have assembled a collection of essays that closely examine the ways in which Buddhism and Asian Modernities are constantly interacting with and conditioning each other. Instead of presenting a monolithic vision of Buddhism, this volume treats particular situations in Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam to demonstrate the wide variety of forms and influences that Buddhism has taken in its many consequential roles in Asian political history.
From ARI co-organized international workshop “Buddhism and the Crisis of Nation-States in Asia”, 19-20 June 2008.
