The Irish Buddhist: the forgotten monk who faced down the British empire
""The Irish Buddhist tells the story of a poor Irishman who worked his way across America as a migrant worker, became one of the very first Western Buddhist monks, and traveled the length and breadth of Asia, from Burma and present-day Thailand to China and Japan, and from India and Sri La...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
New York, NY, United States of America
Oxford University Press
2020
|
| In: | Year: 2020 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Irish people
/ Emigration
/ USA
/ Theravada
/ Bhikku
/ Initiation
B Britisch-Indien / Irish people / Bhikku / Anti-colonialism / Activist B Dhammaloka, U 1856-1914 |
| RelBib Classification: | BL Buddhism KBF British Isles KBM Asia TJ Modern history |
| Further subjects: | B
Biography
B Buddhist monks Biography B Dhammaloka |
| Online Access: |
Table of Contents Blurb Literaturverzeichnis |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
|
| Summary: | ""The Irish Buddhist tells the story of a poor Irishman who worked his way across America as a migrant worker, became one of the very first Western Buddhist monks, and traveled the length and breadth of Asia, from Burma and present-day Thailand to China and Japan, and from India and Sri Lanka to Singapore and Australia. Defying racial boundaries, he scandalized the colonial establishment of the 1900s. As a Buddhist monk, he energetically challenged the values and power of the British empire. U Dhammaloka was a radical celebrity who rallied Buddhists across Asia, set up schools, and argued down Christian missionaries - often using western atheist arguments. He was tried for sedition, tracked by police and intelligence services, and died at least twice. His early years and final days are shrouded in mystery despite his adept use of mass media. His story illuminates the forgotten margins and interstices of imperial power, the complexities of class, ethnicity and religious belonging in colonial Asia, and the fluidity of identity in the high Victorian period. Too often, the story of the pan-Asian Buddhist revival movement and Buddhism's remaking as a world religion has been told "from above," highlighting scholarly writers, middle-class reformers and ecclesiastical hierarchies. By contrast, Dhammaloka's adventures "from below" highlight the changing and contested meanings of Buddhism in colonial Asia. They offer a window into the worlds of ethnic minorities and diasporas, transnational networks, poor whites, and social movements, all developing different visions of Buddhist and post-imperial modernities. ""-- |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 019007308X |