Buddhism:

Williams-Oerberg, Elizabeth

doi:10.2307/j.ctvgs09c4.16

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Whereas, previously, monks would have occupied the highest social position in Ladakhi society, currently, politicians, wealthy business owners and even modern educated youth have come to challenge these traditional social hierarchies (see also Aggarwal, 2004; Bray, 2007; Pirie, 2007; van Beek, 1996; Williams-Oerberg, 2014). In this historically land-based society where monasteries owned large plots of land and leased this out to villagers for agriculture and animal husbandry, monasteries were the centers of social and economic life in Ladakh (Tsarong, 1987).…”

Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, Ladakhi monks were mainly ritual specialists, performing life course rituals such as at birth, death and marriage, and seasonal rituals, including at harvest time and New Year’s for the benefit and protection of Ladakhis. However, with increasing modernization, Ladakhis believe less in the efficacy of these rituals and, instead, prefer to pursue knowledge and practice of Buddhism based on ‘reason’ and ‘logic’ (Williams-Oerberg, 2014, 2017). Currently, Ladakhis generally see the pursuit of a higher education that will eventually lead to a government position, along with the life-long economic security and the social benefits of these coveted positions as the most prestigious life course one can strive towards in Ladakh (Williams-Oerberg, 2015).…”

Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, the importance of working to benefit others as a form of Buddhist practice, at times even emically referred to as ‘Socially Engaged Buddhism’, has become a widespread understanding among Ladakhi Buddhists. For example, in my research among highly educated Ladakhi youth, they often defined Buddhism as ‘humanism’—as engaging in work to benefit all sentient beings (Williams-Oerberg, 2014, 2017). ‘Social work’, or rather work to improve the social and economic welfare of Ladakhis, has become the best way one can practice Buddhism in a more ‘practical’ way, rather than merely engage in ritual that is ‘abstract’ and difficult to understand through reason and logic (Williams-Oerberg, 2014, 2017).…”

Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buddhist Business and Benevolence in Leh, Ladakh

Williams-Oerberg

2020

Journal of Human Values

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Due to a burgeoning tourism industry in the Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh, Buddhist monasteries now have lucrative means for generating income through tourism-related business and financial support from international sponsors and local business owners. Where previously Buddhist monasteries were dependent on the donations and labour of the lay community, currently, with the accumulation of surplus wealth, many Buddhist leaders of prominent monasteries have begun flipping this donor system around. Throughout this article, I look at how Buddhist monastic leaders have invested surplus economic resources into philanthropic projects as a way to ‘give back’ to the wider community. I argue that the philanthropic initiatives by Buddhist leaders in Ladakh help to position Buddhist monastics as taking a leading role in the social and economic transformation of the region, thus working to push back against processes of secularization that threaten to decrease the influence of Buddhist monastic institutions.

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Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socially Engaged Buddhismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buddhist Business and Benevolence in Leh, Ladakh

Williams-Oerberg

2020

Journal of Human Values

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Atmospheric Buddhism: How Buddhism is Distributed, Felt, and Moralized in a Repressive Society

Cho

2023

Journal of Religious Ethics

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A growing number of lay Buddhist practitioners have sought out alternative ways to incorporate Buddhist teachings in their daily practices and make positive changes in society by “doing good” for others. Sometimes recognized as part of “humanistic Buddhism,” this approach emphasizes general morality and focuses on people who need help as a way to fulfill Buddhist teachings in this world. Some Chinese Buddhist practitioners who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition also carry out similar humanistic engagements but use more subtle space‐making processes and often “brand” these as Buddhist practices. Drawing on the ethnographic observations of lay Buddhist practitioners in urban China, this article examines how urban practitioners promote (middle‐class) morality and well‐being lifestyles through what I call “atmospheric Buddhism.” Ultimately, the article argues that an alternative mode of Buddhist practice is emerging in Chinese urban environments in order to cope with politically constrained environments.

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What is the value of a Tibetan prayer wheel?

Brox

2022

Social Compass

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With Buddhism’s integration into the global market economy, the trade in Buddhist commodities is booming. I ask how the value of such goods is measured, communicated, and contested by the diverse range of actors who buy and sell them. The analytical framework draws on recent conceptual developments in the fields of religion and of technology to develop Jens Beckert’s typology of value. While Beckert draws on Durkheim’s sociology of religion to differentiate between physical and symbolic values, I take the example of a powerful Buddhist technology, the Tibetan prayer wheel, to demonstrate the entanglement of materiality and belief in the different types of value ascribed to religious goods.

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Buddhism:

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Buddhist Business and Benevolence in Leh, Ladakh

Buddhist Business and Benevolence in Leh, Ladakh

Atmospheric Buddhism: How Buddhism is Distributed, Felt, and Moralized in a Repressive Society

What is the value of a Tibetan prayer wheel?

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