Dear all,
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for the below workshop is close.
Professor David Gellner (Oxford) has kindly agreed to act as a discussant.
Best, Christoph Brumann
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International Max Planck Workshop
"Sangha Economies: Temple Organisation and Exchanges in Contemporary
Buddhism"
21 – 22 September 2017
Organisers: Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko, Christoph Brumann, Beata Świtek
(Research Group “Buddhist Temple Economies in Urban Asia”,
http://www.eth.mpg.de/3534110/buddhist_temple_economies)
Venue: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany
No other “world religion” has given monasticism such a central role as
Buddhism in which the sangha – the community of monks and, where
recognised, nuns – is one of the "three jewels" (together with the
Buddha and his teachings). While the first monks where itinerant
mendicants, their successors settled down, eventually establishing
prosperous and often very long-lived institutions. When these house
hundreds or even thousands of monks or nuns, it is only natural that
economic and management concerns arise. But these are no less pressing
when, as in Japan, most temples are sustained by just a single priest
and his family.
Questions pertaining to the economic organisation of Buddhist
monasteries and temples have been neglected for a long time, reflecting
the otherworldly orientation of Buddhist doctrine that sees the
attachment to worldly riches as a hindrance for salvation and
enlightenment. In recent years, however, there is a perceptible turn
towards “managing monks” (Jonathan Silk), with several historical
studies showing how economic pursuits were part and parcel of Buddhist
monasticism from early on. Contemporary Buddhism is increasingly being
scrutinised for its economic entanglements, both in theological attempts
to construct a Buddhist economic ethics and in empirical investigations.
In this international workshop, we wish to focus on the sangha, its
institutions, and its interactions with the laity. We apply an empirical
perspective: doctrinal reasoning is important in real-life situations
but does not suffice to explain the actual flow of goods and services
within, towards, and away from Buddhist temples. We seek rich
ethnographic studies of such flows, how they are socially and
politically embedded, and how clergy and laity justify and evaluate
them. We are particularly interested in economic transactions that
involve monks, priests and nuns within the classic Buddhist traditions
of Theravada and Mahayana (Buddhist lay movements and lay practices that
bypass the clergy are outside our focus).
Crucial aspects include the conceptualisation of exchanges with the
sangha. Can there be such a thing as a “free” and pure-hearted gift,
devoid of the self-interest that, in orthodox formulations, would
subvert the intended merit-making of the layperson? Payments for ritual
services can be interpreted as donations but also as fees and
reimbursements, with symbolic distinction being symbolically marked. How
do gifts to the sangha affect the status and credibility of giver and
recipient, and what happens when family and kin ties influence the flow
of resources?
Equally important is the economics of the institutions that build on
such clergy-laity exchanges. Can one speak of a unified temple economy
at all when sub-units such as colleges, households within temple
precincts, and/or individual monks and nuns transact autonomously on the
basis of separate property and funds? What is considered acceptable in
terms of commercial activities, investments, and paid visits? State law
and institutions, expectations of charity and social welfare
contributions, and the nature of the setting (with cities having more
volatile social relations) also have an influence. Finally, we are
interested in the self-reflection of Buddhist practitioners and
believers, particularly when socialist ideologies or Buddhist modernism
have branded traditional modes of temple support as questionable or even
parasitic. Is there a discourse of crisis or is regeneration also a
possibility?
We expect participants to pre-circulate their papers and, after the
workshop, to revise them for an edited volume or special journal issue
by 15 January 2018.
Abstracts of proposals (500 words maximum) should reach all three
convenors by 1 March 2017
([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>). Please send inquiries to
all of us. The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology will cover
travel and accommodation costs for accepted speakers.
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* A postgraduate project comprising online journal, *
* online discussions, teaching and research resources *
* and international contacts directory. *
* To join this list or to look at the archived previous *
* messages visit: *
* http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML *
* If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all *
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* [log in to unmask] *
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