The Anthropology of Buddhism

Ethnographic writing is what anthropologists do. But interlocutors? This paper develops a response to intellectual projects encountered in the field that come uncomfortably close to the ethnographer's own terrain. By engaging with these intellectual projects on their own terms, I argue that Buddhist Studies offers models for the anthropologist of Buddhism to better approach textual cultures of expertise and intellectualism. Likewise, ethnographic engagement offers opportunities for Buddhist Studies to expand the scope of intellectual practices, especially who gets to count and how. Instantiated through reference to para-ethnographic writings and my own fieldwork on domesticity within Newar Buddhist cultures of expertise, I offer a methodologically plural and dialogical approach that emphasizes the complexity and perplexity of any iteration of a text or performance of an interlocutor.

This research shows the practical importance of abhiññā (supernatural powers) in the Southeast Buddhist tradition. As a contemporary example, I focus on a Burmese Buddhist meditation technique formulated by the Burmese monk Pa-Auk Sayadaw (1934-). Supernatural powers, though acknowledged as one of the Buddha’s and Buddhist saints’ venerated qualities, have been marginalized as an unorthodox practice unessential for Buddhist liberation. Similarly, in Myanmar, the exhibition of supernatural powers has been suppressed as animistic magic by the government during the nation-rebuilding time. The devaluation of the practice is still evident after different Buddhist meditation techniques of Burmese origin became popular worldwide. The Pa-Auk meditation technique teaches supernatural powers to all practitioners as elective but requires it for prospective meditation teachers. I examine how teachers and practitioners understand the values for the true path through my observations and interviews with them at different branches of the Pa-Auk meditation centers since 2018.

What might lay-Sri Lankan Buddhists who engage in charitable giving to the poor as merit-making practice and American convert-Buddhists who engage in mindfulness practice to explore racialized dukkha share in common? They both consist of Buddhists practicing the Theravada tradition in vernaculars that depart widely from the normative philological evaluative take on what does and does not constitute “real” Theravada Buddhism. Thinking comparatively on ethnographic research conducted in these widely different socio-historical contexts, this paper explores how as an anthropologist, the Buddhist social life exemplified by these two contemporary case-studies— often relegated to the marginalia of what counts as real Buddhism—surface an important problem in the field of Buddhist Studies. Namely, the tendency to judge contemporary Buddhist vernaculars against a canonically based conception of orthodoxy. On a more personal note, the paper also explores the complexities of being an ethnographer and a native “Buddhist” studying contemporary Buddhist marginalia.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, hagiography (rnam thar) is a vast and popular genre of literature that tells the life-stories of Buddhist figures. Although hagiographic literature itself points to a complex relationship with oral narratives, scholars tend to categorize hagiography as written expression that is both stylized and distinct from history. This paper examines two ethnographic accounts of the life of a religious master – one oral history given by a 25-year-old lama and another account by his teacher. The lama presents a life that is filled with self-doubt, non-religious desires, and fatigue with his position. His teacher presents a narrative of miracles, extraordinary signs and an exaggerated educational history. This paper examines oral history as a dialectic process between intersubjective interlocutors, suggesting that by understanding this dialogic process we must rethink the stability of the hagiographic text and imagine the narrative interests of hagiographic-ethnographers of the past.

This paper looks at chanting, marginalia, and intertextuality in the making of Myanmar Buddhist nuns, preparing them for the government monastic exams. I demonstrate the need to understand both Buddhist texts themselves and how these texts are used, shaped, practiced, and in turn how these processes influence Buddhist knowledge communities. I find that understanding marginalia and chanting is instrumental in understanding the changes that have occurred in the transfer of knowledge within the last few decades. Without the observation, participation, and the questioning of teachers, students, and their methods and practices, we would only see scribbles on a page with no context.

This paper explores the often-overlooked phenomenon of spirit possession, in the Kathmandu Valley, among Newar Buddhist women, known as dyaḥmāṃ. Despite their integral role in local Buddhist practices, their practices, as those of other spirit mediums in the Buddhist world, often find themselves at the margins of what gets to count as Buddhism. Drawing on ethnographic data and vernacular texts, this paper challenges the dichotomy between possession and Buddhism, arguing that possession is a vital aspect of Buddhist practice rather than its other. By examining collaborative rituals between dyaḥmāṃ and Buddhist priests, the paper demonstrates how possession traditions are deeply intertwined with mainstream Buddhist beliefs and ethical norms. Additionally, it advocates for a more inclusive approach to Buddhist studies that incorporates vernacular texts and ritual perspectives, thereby expanding our understanding of what constitutes Buddhism.