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The chapter considers the articulation of class and national consciousness in the protest sensibilities of two contemporary movements of ‘anti‐globalization’ protest—the Zapatistas in Mexico and the Karnataka State Farmers' Association in India. The lack of opportunities for political contention in domestic venues gives social movements incentives to frame their grievances in cosmopolitan terms. Yet they also have multiple uses for nationalism. Nationalism helps obscure differences of interest and/or identity amongst domestic groups, enabling the formation of alliances with other subaltern groups or across class lines. Such nationalisms are often deployed against the postcolonial state, employing a rhetoric of betrayal that accuses the state of having prioritized the interests of transnational capital over those of the nation and attempting to ‘re‐nationalize’ what neo‐Gramscians call the ‘transnationalized’ state. Rather than being antithetical to one another, cosmopolitan class consciousness and nationalist identification are conjoined in contemporary struggles for global social redistribution.

Hrdaya describes how after his enlightenment the Buddha was nourished by two traveling merchants, traveled to Benares to preach his first sermon to the former five companions, and there established the sangha, his monastic community of monks. The conversion of the fire‐sacrificing Kāshyapa brothers begins the poet's narration of a series of incidents that explain the growth of the Buddhist community. The poet mentions other people who donned saffron robes to become disciples such as the famous Sāriputra and Maudgalāyana, Mahakashyapa, and others. Also introduced are great merchants like Anāthapindaka who became devoted lay disciples. Interwoven are sermons the Buddha preached, in which the Dharma (“Teachings”) is set forth. Basic teachings such as Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the ideal of compassion are conveyed. The poet follows the Pali sources, especially the Dhammapada. This chapter covers basic doctrinal points and the formation of the Vinaya, the monastic code.

Original details and interwoven plot textures extend the story of Nanda, begun in the last chapter. Siddhārtha spent his youth with Nanda; Nanda leaves home to greet his much‐beloved cousin. Once near the Buddha, Nanda accepts the invitation to become a monk. Yet he is haunted by the memory of and desire for his beautiful wife, to whom he made a promise to return. Basing his narrative on a canonical account, one in which Siddhārtha is aggressive in using his supernormal powers to train a disciple, the poet adds details to the story that transpose it in the Himalayan region. The poetical highlight is the description of the beauty of Tribistap, a thinly veiled account of idealized Nepal and Tibet. The Buddha convinces Nanda to stay in the sangha; Nanda finally reaches enlightenment, having seen the futility of seeking heavenly maidens and the need to renounce attachments.

This chapter highlights Anāthapindaka, one of the greatest lay disciples of the Buddha. One feature of this chapter is the first ideal the Buddha taught to householders: making dāna offerings to the community of ordained monastics. Food offerings were needed by the monks and nuns daily, and it has been the laity's duty to make them. Anāthapindaka is exemplary in donating not only food but also making the gift of lands and buildings that institute the tradition of Buddhist monasticism. Through this householder and his generosity, the poet allows the reader to understand how the Buddha's charisma moved individuals to join the sangha and to make meritorious donations with selfless determination.

This chapter moves the Buddha's life forward through more of the standard incidents associated with important doctrinal sermons. It begins with the Buddha's last visit to King Shuddhodana, who is on his deathbed; after his death, the Buddha performs the cremation rites according to Newar custom. The chapter then describes the meetings between the Buddha and his foster mother Gautamī when she requests that he allow a nun's order within the sangha, a contentious issue that merits extended treatment, one in which Ānanda intervenes. Also mentioned are the Buddha's wanderings through the famous places where the early community flourished and the locations where he spent his monsoon retreats. Of special focus are troubles with the disputatious monks of Kausāmbi, a bizarre proposal from a brahmin father that the Buddha marry his daughter, and a famous conversation with a general from the Licchavi city‐state about the virtues of compassion and nonviolence.

This chapter begins with famous sangha events: the history of the monastic code, the Vinaya; the appointment of a personal monk attendant, his cousin Ānanda, for the middle‐aged Buddha; and an incident when the Buddha upbraids monks for failing to care for a sick monk. The narrative focuses on the life story and noble virtues of the female lay disciple, Vishākhā. It records her marriage into a wealthy merchant family and her unwavering devotion to the Buddha. The remainder of the chapter records Vishākhā's selling her personal jewelry to raise the funds to build one of the great monasteries of early Buddhism. The portrait of this famous woman householder is done with respect and affection. There are also descriptions of the code of monastic conduct, the portrayal of Newar rituals of donation, and the parts of a traditional early Buddhist monastery.

The chapter begins with famous biographical incidents: the teaching death's universality to a mother and the pacification of a bandit, Angulimāla. Chittadhar recounts villainous acts toward the Buddha by Devadatta. Although Devadatta was swept up in the enthusiasm that led many of the Buddha's relatives to join the sangha, he is eaten away by jealousy. While Devadatta offers to take over leadership of the sangha, citing the Buddha's advanced age, Siddhārtha declines derisively. So Devadatta attempts to kill him but in every instance fails. Also blended into this story are two other historical accounts. The first is the story of the Ayurveda physician and Buddhism supporter Jīvaka. The second story is of how Devadatta influenced Prince Ajātashatru to mistreat, depose, then eventually kill his father, the Buddha's patron, King Bimbasāra. Ajātashatru's repentance and rejection by his mother adds to the emotions conveyed. The chapter ends with Devadatta's demise.

The concluding chapter of Sugata Saurabha describes the Buddha's last visits with his disciples in different notable places. Versions of his last sermons are redacted, ending with the events leading to his attaining final release, parinirvāna. Before this, the chapter focuses on the fixing of exact Vinaya rules, guiding future disciples on determining the true teachings from the bogus accounts. The circumstances leading to the deaths of the great disciples Sāriputra and Maudgalāyana are also described. The gift of a mango grove to the sangha by the courtesan Āmrapālī is interwoven with the Buddha's praising philanthropy but also warning monks about the dangers that women pose to the celibate religious path. Chittadhar's views on the essence of the Buddhist path are distilled in the last sermons before his death in Kushīnāra.

Gives a historical overview of Jainism in Gujarat, and in particular in the city of Patan, which was the medieval capital of the Caulukya dynasty. For the Jains, the most important king of this dynasty was the twelfth‐century Kumarapala, who was profoundly influenced both in his personal spirituality and in his royal policy by the Jain monk Acarya Hemacandra. The chapter also details the organizational structures of the Jain community. These include the mendicant lineages (gaccha), of which the Tapa Gaccha for several centuries has been dominant in Patan and Gujarat, and the lay congregations (sangha). The chapter concludes with a discussion of Jain castes in Patan.

This chapter presents an English translation of the Sinhala Thūpavaṃsa, focusing on Duṭugämuṇu's plan to build a large monastic residence for the Sangha and the Relic Shrine of Golden Garlands (Pāli: Mahāthupa) in Anurādhapura. The text extols these acts of merit and reinforces the virtue of such deeds by noting how arahants and deities lent their assistance to the king.

It is easy to configure the Mareotic group in the light of later Christian monasteries, and become blind to the evidence that Philo provides in his text. For Philo and for others in the Graeco-Roman world, the stories of Indian sages and Buddhist monks and nuns provided examples of those who lived a contemplative life. In early Christian monasticism, ascetics such as St Antony went far away from human society into the wilderness. Traditionally, in Theravada Buddhism, the sangha (the community of monks and nuns) has a special relationship with the wider Buddhist community, which supports those who live in the monastery: the wider community supplies the sangha with food, when the monks come to beg, and the sangha gives advice to the wider community. The location of a monastery is often right in the heart of a town. This chapter examines the geographical and social location of the group Philo describes in order to define more precisely how it might be placed in terms of the community from which it came.

This concluding chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some final thoughts. It suggests that if we are to take seriously the connection that exists between emotion, volition, cognition, and aesthetics, examining emotion and its place in religion becomes central to making the behavior of religious practitioners, whether monastic or lay, intelligible by relating what people do to their shared histories, personal experiences, and future aspirations. As ideas about beauty, monastic vocation, patronage, and institution building are shaped and determined by the very relationships and affective bonds that exist among the laity and sangha as well as between monastics and their lay supporters, examining emotions and the constitutive roles they play in social life and religious praxis becomes paramount.

This chapter discusses the various available theories on the nature and formation of the early states in India such as Oriental Despotism and the Asiatic Mode of Production. It also looks at the various factors which might have contributed to state formation like the development of irrigation systems, population growth, social stratification, and growth of trade and urban centres. It discusses a working definition of the term ‘lineage’ and provides a comparison between a lineage based society and a state. The chapter also discusses the defining features of a state and differentiates between terms like ‘state’, ‘government’, and ‘society’. The centralization of power in the state is also examined, before the discussion shifts to a study of four different situations regarding state formation. The situations that are included in the study are the Rg Vedic and Later Vedic societies in the Indo-Gangetic watershed and western Ganga valley, the gana-sangha system, and the arrival of the monarchies in the middle Ganga valley.

The primary feminist criticism of Buddhism is that, most often, dharma teachers are men. Feminists have responded with two solutions to this problem. One obvious solution would be to make structural changes to ensure that women are trained as teachers, and then to make sure that women are promoted as teachers. The authority of dharma teachers pertains to dharma, to the teachings and practices of Buddhism, not to a sangha's institutional life, which can be decided by the community. Because dharma teaching is so important in Buddhism, the acid test for whether Buddhism has overcome its male-dominant heritage is the frequency with which women become dharma teachers. This chapter explores that in most Buddhist cultures, the path to teaching authority lies in monastic institutions; thus, if women's path to monastic life is blocked, as was the case in many forms of Asian Buddhism, women usually will not become teachers.

The Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond, the “Temple of the Gift of Light” located in Richmond's Museum District in Virginia, houses five distinct groups practicing in separate lineages of Buddhism: Pure Land, Soto Zen, Kagyu (Tibetan), and Vipassana, and the Meditative Inquiry group. This book discusses the exceptional degree of pluralism at Ekoji and the ways in which regionalism may manifest in relation to Buddhism in America. Using the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond as the primary case study, the chapter shows how bodily practices serve as paths through the shared space of Ekoji and the streets of Richmond and reveals more about identity formation and expression.

Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond is the only temple in the country that shelters five diverse groups practicing in distinct lineages—Pure Land, Zen, Tibetan, Vipassana, and the Meditative Inquiry group. This chapter defines each group's lineage and practices, including how and why their practices evolved over the years. Each of Ekoji's five groups is officially aligned with a specific form of Buddhist practice and doctrine. The chapter explores the differentiation among groups by looking at how they use space, objects, and bodies to carve out their own Buddhist identity.

This chapter uses the recommendations of the government-appointed Sachar Committee to debate aspects of minority rights. “Majority” and “minority” are not unified, exclusive, or antagonistic categories. A religious majority, that is the Hindus, is as fragmented as the minority, that is, the Muslims. The 1990s saw the rise of a new force in Indian politics — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the successor of the Jana Sangh. The BJP, riding on the crest of a popular Hindutva wave, was spurned by its own following in UP after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The same process is at work in Gujarat.

This chapter analyzes the conditions of Buddhism within Sipsongpannā. It describes the religious field of Sipsongpannā, aspects of village Buddhism, the monastic careers of Dai-lue men and the organization of the Sangha. While the chapter situates village Buddhism in the region as “local,” it also seeks to complicate how “local” forms of Buddhism interact with and are conditioned by national and transnational forms as well.

This chapter examines the politics of religion in Yunnan and Sipsongpannā. The first part of the chapter analyzes and describes the official discourse on religion in China and the institutions for governing religious communities, arguing that the state has established a system that allows it flexibility to govern religious groups according to its needs. The second part examines the politics of religion in Sipsongpannā in light of this system of governance. It shows that the monks of the region act strategically, cooperating with the local government but using this system to foster their own agendas.