Living Buddhism (eBook)

Mind, Self, and Emotion in a Thai Community

Julia Cassaniti (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2015
232 Seiten
Cornell University Press (Verlag)
978-1-5017-0097-2 (ISBN)

Infos

With a beautiful blend of stories, research, and her own field experience, Julia Cassaniti unlocks the secrets of creating calmness and the power of letting go. Living Buddhism is a must-read for everyoneâ•expert and nonexpert alikeâ•interested in how our cultures shape our emotional lives. — Hazel Markus, Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, coauthor of Social Psychology

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.

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.

Autor

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

Inhalt

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

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.12.2015
• Zusatzinfo: 9 halftones, 2 tables
• Verlagsort: Ithaca
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 150 x 150 mm
• Gewicht: 454 g
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
• Schlagworte: aspiring anthropologist • being a buddhist • being a buddhist, Buddhist ideas, mindfulness, buddhist life, practicing buddhism • book for an Anthropology class • Buddhism in Thailand • buddhist communities • buddhist emotion • Buddhist ideas • Buddhist ideas of impermanence • Buddhist ideas of intention • Buddhist ideas of nonattachment • buddhist life • buddhist mindfulness • Buddhist philosophy • buddhist practice • buddhist religious philosophy • buddhist rituals • Buddhist Studies • Buddism • complex philosophical concepts made simple • Cultural Anthropology • ethnographies • ethnography • Mindfulness • practicing Buddhism • Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand • practicing Buddhist ideas • practicing nonattachment • Religious ethnography • Religious Philosophy • Religious Studies • southeast asian culture • Thai Buddhism • understanding Buddhist ideas • Understanding Emotions • what is impermanence
• ISBN-10: 1-5017-0097-9 / 1501700979
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5017-0097-2 / 9781501700972