New Books in Buddhist Studies

Justin McDaniel, Khan Endowed Chair of the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania and a scholar of Theravada Buddhist literature, dives into the intriguing and often unsettling aspects of Thai Buddhism. He discusses meditation practices involving decomposing bodies and the beliefs surrounding fetus spirits and corpse oil. The conversation touches on his journey from Catholicism to monastic life, exploring the complexity of rituals related to death and transformation in Thai culture, and the ethical dilemmas posed by practices like Kumantong.

Roger R. Jackson, a Professor Emeritus at Carleton College and author of "Saraha: Poet of Blissful Awareness," discusses the enigmatic tenth-century yogin Saraha. He unpacks Saraha’s mystic songs, highlighting their enlightening yet confounding nature. Jackson explores Saraha's influence on the Mahamudra tradition and critiques societal norms through fascinating narratives, including the radish girl story. He also addresses translation challenges and the significance of Saraha's work in South Asian literature, revealing his profound legacy in Tibetan Buddhism and beyond.

Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270 (UCL Press, 2020) is the first intellectual history of premodern Sri Lanka’s most culturally productive period. This era of reform (1157–1270) shaped the nature of Theravada Buddhism both in Sri Lanka and also Southeast Asia and even today continues to define monastic intellectual life in the region.Alastair Gornall argues that the long century’s literary productivity was not born of political stability, as is often thought, but rather of the social, economic and political chaos brought about by invasions and civil wars. Faced with unprecedented uncertainty, the monastic community sought greater political autonomy, styled itself as royal court, and undertook a series of reforms, most notably, a purification and unification in 1165 during the reign of Parakramabahu I. He describes how central to the process of reform was the production of new forms of Pali literature, which helped create a new conceptual and social coherence within the reformed community; one that served to preserve and protect their religious tradition while also expanding its reach among the more fragmented and localized elites of the period.Rewriting Buddhism is available for free open-access download at uclpress.com/buddhism.Bruno M. Shirley is a PhD candidate at Cornell University, working on Buddhism, kingship and gender in medieval Sri Lankan texts and landscapes. He is on Twitter at @brunomshirley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Scholars of religion have mostly abandoned the concept of "syncretism" in which certain apparent deviations from "standard" practice are believed to be the result of a mixture of religions. This is particularly relevant to Thailand, in which ordinary religious practice was seen by an earlier generation of scholars as a mixture of three religions: local spirit religion, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In part, the perception that Thai Buddhism is syncretistic is due to a misunderstanding of traditional Buddhism, which has always accepted the existence of local spirits and gods. Nevertheless, there are aspects of Thai Buddhist practice that still stubbornly appear syncretistic. Moreover, Thai Buddhists themselves are increasingly adopting the language of syncretism, referring to traditional Thai religion as a mixture of local, Hindu, and Buddhist practices. This raises the question: If syncretism is so wrong, then why does it seem so right?In Holy Things: The Genealogy of the Sacred in Thai Religion (Oxford UP, 2024), Nathan McGovern answers this question through an in-depth study of the worship of spirits, gods, and Buddha images--all known as sing saksit, or "holy things"--in Thailand. He takes the reader on a historical and genealogical journey, showing how the category saksit began as a term to describe a power that is inherent to gods and spirits and accessible to Brahmans. Only later, when it was used in the nineteenth century to translate the Western concept of the "holy" did it become associated with Buddhist practice. McGovern shows that what appears to be syncretism is actually an illusion. The worship of "holy things" is not a mixture of different religions, but the category of "holy things" is a mixture of different ways of talking about religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Glenn’s latest, Non Buddhist Mysticism: Performing Irreducible and Primitive Presence (Eyecorner Press, 2022), presents a radical reorientation to “spiritual” practice.Drawing from François Laruelle’s concept of future mysticism and the author’s own previous work on non-buddhism, Glenn Wallis galvanizes a materialist spirituality for the twenty-first century.Liberated from the punctilious gaze of the masters, delivered into the hands (and hearts) of the reader, this is a spirituality “born in the spirit of heresy rather than sanctity.”The intended outcome is a subject “fit for the clash with Hell” – a person equipped, lovingly and compassionately, to confront the injustices of the world.We also look at the great work taking place at INCITE Seminars, a place of practice which all listeners are invited to.Order at EyeCorner Press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

In Buddhist cosmology, pretas make up one of several categories of rebirth. They are best known as "hungry ghosts," pitiful beings with miniscule mouths and bloated stomachs whose state of extreme starvation is a result of stinginess and immorality in a former life.But they were not always portrayed in this way. Of Ancestors and Ghosts: How Preta Narratives Constructed Buddhist Cosmology and Shaped Buddhist Ethics (Oxford UP, 2024) traces the construction of the Buddhist realm of the pretas through narrative literature composed in Pali and Sanskrit in the first millennium of Buddhism's development in South Asia. By exploring issues such as where the departed go after they die, how the living can assist the dead in the next world, and how the departed fits into a karmic cosmology, Buddhist monks used these stories to construct the preta realm and, with it, Buddhist cosmology as we know it today. In the process they established themselves as religious experts concerning the dead. Of Ancestors and Ghosts illustrates the importance of narrative for the construction of religious cosmologies, showing that cosmologies come into formation over a long, cumulative process.Far from being simple morality tales, preta literature helped develop and articulate Buddhist understandings of actions and their fruits. In the process, these narratives portray ethical cultivation as inherently connected to the cultivation of bodies. As a result, stories about pretas speak to the vast range of embodied experiences in the Buddhist cosmos, including the intersection of human/non-human identity and class, caste, gender, and sexuality. These stories help model and elicit aesthetically informed embodied experiences that are themselves ethically formative. As a result, preta literature highlights the enduring importance of emotions and embodiment on the Buddhist path to awakening.Personally, for me as a NBN host, this book models for us, a care-based research paradigm that takes seriously seemingly "supernatural" or "superstitious" narratives NOT as raw materials but as mirrors to reflect upon the limits of our own scholarly practices and as theoretical resources to expand existing ways of producing knowledge. A transcript is available here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Rafal K. Stepien, a Professor and author of "Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy," dives into the profound teachings of Nāgārjuna, a pivotal figure in Buddhist philosophy. He unpacks the themes of emptiness and the radical idea of abandoning all views as part of achieving liberation. The conversation critiques Western interpretations of Eastern thought, emphasizing the intertwined nature of ethics and philosophy. Stepien also explores the literary qualities of Buddhist texts and the lesser-known developments of Madhyamaka philosophy in China, advocating for a richer understanding of these concepts.

In this episode Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with Ruth Westoby a scholar, teacher, and practitioner of yoga. We discuss Ruth’s work on the body in early hatha yoga texts. We talk about the broad diversity of approaches to the material body in these sources, including their ideas about gender, the cultivation of powers, and approaches to liberation. Along the way, we touch on yogic sex, practices to stop menstruating, and the courageous work that modern practitioners have been doing to expose abuse by yoga gurus.If you want to hear more from experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality then subscribe to Blue Beryl and don’t miss an episode!Resources mentioned in the episode: Preliminary published results from Ruth’s research Mallinson and Szántó, The Amṛtasiddhi and Amṛtasiddhimūla (2021). Jason Birch, The Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha of Gorakṣanātha(2023). Elena Valussi, “The Physiology of Transcendence for Women” (2009) BBP episode with Dominic Steavu Hatha Yoga Project Articles on guru abuse by Pattabhi Jois: Anneke Lucas, Karen Rain, Amanda Lucia Inform Project Video footage of Ruth doing historical āsanas Ruth’s website and email newsletter, Facebook page, Instagram Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Today’s globalized society faces some of humanity’s most unprecedented social and environmental challenges. Presenting new and insightful approaches to a range of these challenges, Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age (Lexington, 2019) draws upon individual cases of exemplary leadership from the world’s Dharma traditions—Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Taking on difficult contemporary issues such as climate change, racial and gender inequality, industrial agriculture and animal rights, fair access to healthcare and education, and other such pressing concerns, Beacons of Dharma offers a promising and much needed contribution to our global remedial discussions. Seeking to help solve and alleviate such social and environmental issues, each of the chapters in the volume invites contemplation, inspires action, and offers a freshly invigorating source of hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Shodhin Geiman, Sensei & Abbot at Chicago Zen Center, shares deep insights drawn from his extensive experience as a scholar and practitioner. He discusses the delicate balance between Buddhism and activism, advocating for patience over impulsive reactions. Geiman delves into the complexities of serving dual interests and critiques American Buddhism's fix-it mentality. He emphasizes the need for reflection amidst modern discontent, and how confronting discomfort can lead to genuine personal growth, drawing connections between Dharma and everyday struggles.