Buddhism under Capitalism

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This book argues that Buddhism has spread due to globalized capitalism, and explores how capitalism is also impacting Buddhists and Buddhism today. Edited by two leading scholars in Buddhist studies, the book examines how capitalism and neo-liberalism have shaped global perceptions of Buddhism, as well as specific local practices and attitudes. It examines the institutional practices that sustained the spread of Buddhism for two and a half millennia, and the adaptation of Buddhist institutions in contemporary, global economic systemsparticularly in Europe and the United States over the last century and half. These innovative essays on the interfaces between Buddhism and capitalism will prompt readers to rethink the connection between Buddhism and secular society. Case studies include digital capitalism, tourism, and monasticism, and are drawn from the USA, Tibet, China, Japan, and Thailand.

Author Bio

Richard K. Payne is the Yehan Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhist Studies at Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, USA, and a member of the Graduate Theological Unions Core Doctoral Faculty. He is author of Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra (Bloomsbury, 2018). Fabio Rambelli is Professor of Japanese Religions and ISF Endowed Chair in Shinto Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is co-editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religions (Bloomsbury, 2021), Defining Shugendo (Bloomsbury, 2020) Spirits and Animism in Contemporary Japan (Bloomsbury, 2019), The Sea and the Sacred in Japan (Bloomsbury, 2018), and author of A Buddhist Theory of Semiotics (Bloomsbury, 2013).