The great King Chulalongkorn was a democrat – and a federalist. He spent thirty years fighting reactionary royalty, etc. – to free Siam’s slaves. Chulalongkorn was Thailand’s Lincoln. Chulalongkorn attempted to unite the Siamese – including Chiang Mai – against encroaching British and French imperialism.
People are entitled to read what they like and make up their own judgements and opinions. We may wish to discredit authors and news stations but we are not in the position to be so up ourselves to try to control what others read. That proves that there is something to hide. This is why governments, corporations and religious institutions seek to stop information flows. If you really believe (I mean really… no doubt at all) then you ought to be quite happy for people to read everything they like. If people read something.. that doesn’t necessarily mean they will enjoy or believe it.. it is just something to read to gain more understanding, another perspective etc. This paternal kind of ‘don’t read that, I know what is best for you attitude’ is really a symptom of a very nefarious motivation. I am not being personal my friend, but I am just pointing out that only liars, cheats and thieves don’t want the truth to come out. We should all read Yon and Marshall.. Fox News may be a bit far but it is good for a laugh…
Religions are a complex mixture of good and bad. They share one unfortunate trait. Obfuscation is their main area of intellectual expertise. They cover their backsides with it whenever any light is shone on their political role, especially when things go wrong.
It is difficult to know where to begin in my disagreements with this assessment. First, I think Mr. Mazard is looking in the wrong place. Or at least the wrong journal. The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies tends to specialize in historical, textual and/or philological studies. So the fact that there are few articles exploring the interactions between Buddhism and contemporary politicians is not surprising. If he examined Contemporary Buddhism, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, or Buddhist Studies Review he might have better luck. His chances would improve even further if he examined a range of mainstream journals in Asian studies (Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, South East Asia Research, Journal of Burma Studies, etc) and religious studies (Journal of the American Academy of Religion, History of Religions, Numen, etc).
Second, few studies of Buddhism and (contemporary) politics focus their attention so single-mindedly on political or ecclesiastical leaders. Rather, they tend to study electoral politics, state institutions and policies, and/or political ideologies in their interactions with religious communities, social-cum-religious movements and/or popular religious beliefs and practices. His key terms of individual’s names will not so easily discover those articles when searching digital databases, however.
Third, the general assertion that there has been a failure to study the intersection of Buddhism and politics in the last ten years is, quite frankly, difficult for me to understand. The intersection of Buddhism and politics has been a central concern of scholarship about Buddhism for decades. In studies of Southeast Asia Buddhism it was a central concern of the earliest generation of post-World War II scholars – Frank Reynolds, Steven Collins, Gananath Obeyesekere, John Holt, Charles Keyes, Stanley Tambiah, and Donald Swearer, to name a few. And it has been an enduring concern of every subsequent generation of scholars, including the most recent generation of the past decade. A small and very incomplete sampling of those examining Buddhism and recent contemporary politics includes: Rohan Bastin, Neil DeVotta, Ananda Abeyesekara, Peter Schalk, Stephen Berkwitz, Mahinda Deegalle (for Sri Lanka); Juliane Schober, Michael Aung-Thwin, Gustaaf Houtman, Ingrid Jordt, Guillaume Rozenberg, Benedicte Brac de la Perriere, Niklas Foxeus, Matthew Walton, Michael Gravers (for Burma); Mark Askew, Duncan McCargo, Michael Jerryson, Patrick Jory, Susan Darlington, Katherine Bowie, Thongchai Winichakul, James Taylor, Peter Jackson (for Thailand); Patrice Ladwig, Grant Evans (for Laos); Ian Harris, Alexandra Kent, Judy Ledgerwood, Penny Edwards, Heng Sreang, Heng Monychenda (for Cambodia). I’m sure many more could be added. This list is hardly exhaustive (apologies to all not included!).
A simple Google scholar search of these names will discover a wealth of scholarship about Southeast Asian Buddhism and contemporary politics during the last decade or so, published across a wide range of academic journals, edited volumes and monographs. My instinct is that this is also true of studies of South Asian, Central Asian and East Asian Buddhism. I simply don’t understand how Mr. Mazard could have missed all of this. He doesn’t seem to have looked very hard or very carefully, from my perspective.
Buddhism and politics has been such a central, dominating and pervasive focus of study, in fact, one could actually argue it is has sucked the oxygen out of other potential topics of interest. For example, one neglected are in particular is the relationship between (Southeast Asian) Buddhism and the modern arts, especially modern industrial culture industries. Thus, there are many fewer studies of Buddhism in relation to literature (novels, shorts stories, poetry), movies, television, radio, music and the performing arts. The academic study of Southeast Asian Buddhism would benefit greatly from studies of this sort, as well as others.
“most of the people outside of Thailand are so uneducated and easily influenced by vote-buying schemes”. Excuse me for bending over and laughing till my eyes water and I can’t breathe. The Thais are some of the most uneducated people in the world, if you throw out the special schools that even I can’t afford. The sheer arrogance of you royals is a bad joke.
A very thorough analysis of a process that is getting uglier day by day. Which is worse: The blatant hypocrisy, or the bungling and infighting that is becoming more and more obvious?
Is it possible that the NCPO will not survive long enough for it to reach the end of their long road toward “reform” and a military-sponsored constitution? There have been fresh rumors published in The Nation about rumblings of yet another coup to overthrow this coup. The plausibility of such an event was quickly denied, but still, some important players are spreading these rumors. For what purpose?
Dark clouds are forming with the rubber farmers, who are demanding government subsidies/price supports for the falling price of rubber (first they wanted 80 Baht/kg; now they are begging for 60 Baht/kg). It looks likely that they will be allowed to mount protests despite martial law as “informational gatherings”! Will Prayut give in to these demands? At current oil prices, it is possible to produce synthetic rubber cheaper than the current rubber prices, so government subsidies will not solve the crisis and will still cost the Thai government tens of billions of Baht to placate one of their core (and potentially violent) constituencies.
No significant interaction?
What about Dhammakaya’s support of Thaksin?
Santi Asoke’s support of the PAD and any other Yellow Alliance groups?
Luang Ta Maha Bua’s support of the PAD (watch also the Woody interview!)?
What about the present attempts by the military government to “clean up” the Buddhist clergy, which ranges from cracking down on misconduct by monks up to forcing monks and temples not to issue particular mahasanae amulets with sexual depictions anymore?
What i can see, just here in Thailand, is that on every level there is more than significant interaction between politics and the clergy, from the almost constant presence of monks in the different protest groups, up to the political positioning of entire sects, and mingling between influential monks and elite players of all sides.
I very much agree with the authors point that there is a significant lack of study on that subject matter. A possible reason may be that voicing critical views on Buddhism, it’s clergy’s political relationships and interactions, and critical exposes on prominent Buddhists are a very sensitive matter that will almost inevitable will endanger any outspoken scholar, and be a possible career breaker.
This quotation from the Wikipedia article on the History of East Timor gives some idea of the importance of religion in the continuing troubles:
“The Catholic Church in East Timor played an important role in society throughout the Indonesian occupation. While just 20% of East Timorese called themselves Catholics in 1975, the figure surged to reach 95% by the end of the first decade after the invasion.”
It’s only Wikipedia, but these figures indicate a massive Christian campaign to undermine the Indonesian administration of East Timor. It would be fairly safe to conclude that a good deal of the violence from the Indonesian side was due to the usual Moslem reaction to Christian proselytising.
This note from Prof. Mazard is useful challenge for future studies. However, it overlooks a good deal of past work on interconnection between political development and religion, much at book lenght. Some examples are:
– many writings of S. Sivalak, such as “Siam in Crisis”
– “The Engaged Buddhism of Sulak Sivaraksa” by Matteo Pistono
– “Dhammic Socialism” by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
– “Buddhadasa: Theravada Buddhism and Modernist Reform in Thailand” by Peter A. Jackson
– “The Middle Path for the Future of Thailand” by Sippanonda Ketudat
– “The Life of Prince-Patriarch Vajiranana” edited and translated by Craig Reynolds
– “Political Beliefs of the Thai Sangha” by Pholsak Jirakraisiri
– “Modern Thai Radical Thought: The Siamization of Marxism and its Theoretical Problems” a thesis by Yuangrat Wedel, especially the chapter “Religion: Buddha and Marx” p. 213-251 and “Radical Thought, Thai Mind” by Yuangrat and Paul Wedel
– “Buddhism and Politics in Thailand: A Study of Socio-political Change and Political Activism of the Thai Sangha,” “Political Patronage and Control Over the Sangha” and “Political Buddhism in Southeast Asia” by Somboon Suksamran
– “Buddhism, democracy and identity in Thailand” by Duncan McCargo
– “Buddhist Politics and Their Revolutionary Origins in Thailand” by Charles F. Keyes
– “Buddhism, Power and Political Order” edited by Ian Harris
– “Centre and Periphery: Buddhism and Politics in Modern Thailand” by Donald Swearer
-“Rethinking Buddhism and Development:
The Emergence of Environmentalist Monks in Thailand” by Susan M. Darlington
– “Buddhism and Postmodern Imaginings in Thailand: The Religiosity of Urban Space
Buddhism and Postmodern Imaginings in Thailand” by James Taylor
Yes, I won’t claim it did not happen at all (100 %), but far more Jews chose conversion, or the Portuguese Government would not claim, and DNA homological sequencing indicate, that Portugal is practically “all” Converso. The Jews certainly did not return under Salazar, and today there are few “pure” Jews in Portugal and yet probably 1-2 million descendants of Conversos. Had they been all burned, they couldn’t “descend” as it were, as these all originate from original Jews in Portugal in the 15-16th Centuries. I have been to Lisbon and Burgos and asked some local historians (who are scholars) and without them going so far (which would lack credibility) as to absolve all guilt from Medieval Portugal, the Jews were treated far better than in Spain. Auto-da-Fes ? Yes, they happened in Portugal, as did Portuguese Catholics (especially Jesuits and La Sallians) who hid Jews in monasteries (yes, even back then), which almost never happened at all in Spain, under Queen Isabella (not to be too flippant), yet Franco due to some mythological Converso origins, did not kill the 2000 Jews left in Spain, that hadn’t already been expelled or killed, about 400 years earlier, leaving hardly any Jews in Spain. There are some Conversos in Andalucia and in Castille, but the Basque myth about being one of the lost tribes of Israel, is a myth. This is the VERY reason, Rajoy instituted a very “innovative” right of return policy where any Jew who could claim descent from Spaniards who were Sepahrdim, could get
automatic Spanish citizenship. Guilt much ? Portugal has no analogous government program simply because so many Portuguese are descended from Conversos. But, who knows ? Maybe Lisbon will follow Madrid in good order.
I can’t see it :
“Buddhism, itself, is profoundly connected to contemporary political reality; the religion responds to politics, and the political field responds to the religion”
Other than a few case studies of a few rogue, or environmentalist monks, I can’t see there is any significant interaction.
Here are some links to a recent “blasphemy” incident in Burma (involving an ad for a night club making Buddha look like a DJ) which reveals a lot about how many people in Burma view Buddhism (as part of their national identity). There is a big chasm between reality of Buddhism in Southeast Asian countries and what people like Richard Gere, not to mention self-serving academics in Universities, believes “pure Buddhism” should be about. As Buddha taught: “it’s all perception, smoke and mirrors” or as the Beatles sang: “nothing is real, strawberry fields forever”
Portugal never “burned” Jews; most converted to Catholicism but were not expelled or burned as in Spain, but remained Conversos. Spinoza’s grandfather who chose to move to Nantes, in France, was expelled by Catholic France, not Portugal, and Baruch Spinoza’s grandfather settled in Rotterdam. Spinoza continued to write in Portuguese, Ladino, Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Latin and Greek, as befitting a philosophical polyglot. It was later discovered in Burgos, Portugal, the original town of the Spinozas, that almost all the inhabitants in that region were descended from Conversos, if not all of Portugal itself. Portugal was no picnic for Jews, obviously, and all were required to become Catholic, but had they all been burned or expelled, there would not be so many confirmed Conversos in Portugal today, many of whom have officially returned to Judaism by re-conversion via
Portuguese Orthodox Rabbis. Jews may have been forced to practice Judaism secretly in Portugal, but at least, they could practice their faith; in Spain, they were expelled or burned, no matter their official devotion to Catholicism. The Netherlands was better than either, but not every Jew could afford to move there, so some move to Curacao, where there was freedom of belief for all (and some even
moved to Melaka and Goa during the 16th Century, Portuguese territory, but where
freedom of worship was guaranteed; the reason why remnants of Conversos can even be found in far-flung Melaka and Goa).
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
Boom!
Thai Coup: A normal way of life
The great King Chulalongkorn was a democrat – and a federalist. He spent thirty years fighting reactionary royalty, etc. – to free Siam’s slaves. Chulalongkorn was Thailand’s Lincoln. Chulalongkorn attempted to unite the Siamese – including Chiang Mai – against encroaching British and French imperialism.
Thai Coup: A normal way of life
People are entitled to read what they like and make up their own judgements and opinions. We may wish to discredit authors and news stations but we are not in the position to be so up ourselves to try to control what others read. That proves that there is something to hide. This is why governments, corporations and religious institutions seek to stop information flows. If you really believe (I mean really… no doubt at all) then you ought to be quite happy for people to read everything they like. If people read something.. that doesn’t necessarily mean they will enjoy or believe it.. it is just something to read to gain more understanding, another perspective etc. This paternal kind of ‘don’t read that, I know what is best for you attitude’ is really a symptom of a very nefarious motivation. I am not being personal my friend, but I am just pointing out that only liars, cheats and thieves don’t want the truth to come out. We should all read Yon and Marshall.. Fox News may be a bit far but it is good for a laugh…
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
Religions are a complex mixture of good and bad. They share one unfortunate trait. Obfuscation is their main area of intellectual expertise. They cover their backsides with it whenever any light is shone on their political role, especially when things go wrong.
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
Wow!
You would be a way better Ph.D. supervisor for Mr. Mazard!
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
It is difficult to know where to begin in my disagreements with this assessment. First, I think Mr. Mazard is looking in the wrong place. Or at least the wrong journal. The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies tends to specialize in historical, textual and/or philological studies. So the fact that there are few articles exploring the interactions between Buddhism and contemporary politicians is not surprising. If he examined Contemporary Buddhism, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, or Buddhist Studies Review he might have better luck. His chances would improve even further if he examined a range of mainstream journals in Asian studies (Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, South East Asia Research, Journal of Burma Studies, etc) and religious studies (Journal of the American Academy of Religion, History of Religions, Numen, etc).
Second, few studies of Buddhism and (contemporary) politics focus their attention so single-mindedly on political or ecclesiastical leaders. Rather, they tend to study electoral politics, state institutions and policies, and/or political ideologies in their interactions with religious communities, social-cum-religious movements and/or popular religious beliefs and practices. His key terms of individual’s names will not so easily discover those articles when searching digital databases, however.
Third, the general assertion that there has been a failure to study the intersection of Buddhism and politics in the last ten years is, quite frankly, difficult for me to understand. The intersection of Buddhism and politics has been a central concern of scholarship about Buddhism for decades. In studies of Southeast Asia Buddhism it was a central concern of the earliest generation of post-World War II scholars – Frank Reynolds, Steven Collins, Gananath Obeyesekere, John Holt, Charles Keyes, Stanley Tambiah, and Donald Swearer, to name a few. And it has been an enduring concern of every subsequent generation of scholars, including the most recent generation of the past decade. A small and very incomplete sampling of those examining Buddhism and recent contemporary politics includes: Rohan Bastin, Neil DeVotta, Ananda Abeyesekara, Peter Schalk, Stephen Berkwitz, Mahinda Deegalle (for Sri Lanka); Juliane Schober, Michael Aung-Thwin, Gustaaf Houtman, Ingrid Jordt, Guillaume Rozenberg, Benedicte Brac de la Perriere, Niklas Foxeus, Matthew Walton, Michael Gravers (for Burma); Mark Askew, Duncan McCargo, Michael Jerryson, Patrick Jory, Susan Darlington, Katherine Bowie, Thongchai Winichakul, James Taylor, Peter Jackson (for Thailand); Patrice Ladwig, Grant Evans (for Laos); Ian Harris, Alexandra Kent, Judy Ledgerwood, Penny Edwards, Heng Sreang, Heng Monychenda (for Cambodia). I’m sure many more could be added. This list is hardly exhaustive (apologies to all not included!).
A simple Google scholar search of these names will discover a wealth of scholarship about Southeast Asian Buddhism and contemporary politics during the last decade or so, published across a wide range of academic journals, edited volumes and monographs. My instinct is that this is also true of studies of South Asian, Central Asian and East Asian Buddhism. I simply don’t understand how Mr. Mazard could have missed all of this. He doesn’t seem to have looked very hard or very carefully, from my perspective.
Buddhism and politics has been such a central, dominating and pervasive focus of study, in fact, one could actually argue it is has sucked the oxygen out of other potential topics of interest. For example, one neglected are in particular is the relationship between (Southeast Asian) Buddhism and the modern arts, especially modern industrial culture industries. Thus, there are many fewer studies of Buddhism in relation to literature (novels, shorts stories, poetry), movies, television, radio, music and the performing arts. The academic study of Southeast Asian Buddhism would benefit greatly from studies of this sort, as well as others.
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
Politics and Buddhism – although mainly in the Mahayana – have already been studied, by Victoria and M. Zimmerman among others – and here is the link to my article on Theravada, State and Violence :
http://www.academia.edu/7288132/Theravada_Buddhism_State_and_Violence_Texts_Principles_and_Realities
published in the Review Hieron. That article is the summary in English of my DEA thesis in French (2007).
Paul Handley replies to comments
Paul, or anyone–where can I find the family tree that you created?
Thai Coup: A normal way of life
Let’s not overlook the fact that Yon was an enthusiastic supporter of the Yellows, or whatever they are called nowadays.
Thai Coup: A normal way of life
“most of the people outside of Thailand are so uneducated and easily influenced by vote-buying schemes”. Excuse me for bending over and laughing till my eyes water and I can’t breathe. The Thais are some of the most uneducated people in the world, if you throw out the special schools that even I can’t afford. The sheer arrogance of you royals is a bad joke.
The making of pseudo-democracy
A very thorough analysis of a process that is getting uglier day by day. Which is worse: The blatant hypocrisy, or the bungling and infighting that is becoming more and more obvious?
Is it possible that the NCPO will not survive long enough for it to reach the end of their long road toward “reform” and a military-sponsored constitution? There have been fresh rumors published in The Nation about rumblings of yet another coup to overthrow this coup. The plausibility of such an event was quickly denied, but still, some important players are spreading these rumors. For what purpose?
Dark clouds are forming with the rubber farmers, who are demanding government subsidies/price supports for the falling price of rubber (first they wanted 80 Baht/kg; now they are begging for 60 Baht/kg). It looks likely that they will be allowed to mount protests despite martial law as “informational gatherings”! Will Prayut give in to these demands? At current oil prices, it is possible to produce synthetic rubber cheaper than the current rubber prices, so government subsidies will not solve the crisis and will still cost the Thai government tens of billions of Baht to placate one of their core (and potentially violent) constituencies.
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
No significant interaction?
What about Dhammakaya’s support of Thaksin?
Santi Asoke’s support of the PAD and any other Yellow Alliance groups?
Luang Ta Maha Bua’s support of the PAD (watch also the Woody interview!)?
What about the present attempts by the military government to “clean up” the Buddhist clergy, which ranges from cracking down on misconduct by monks up to forcing monks and temples not to issue particular mahasanae amulets with sexual depictions anymore?
What i can see, just here in Thailand, is that on every level there is more than significant interaction between politics and the clergy, from the almost constant presence of monks in the different protest groups, up to the political positioning of entire sects, and mingling between influential monks and elite players of all sides.
I very much agree with the authors point that there is a significant lack of study on that subject matter. A possible reason may be that voicing critical views on Buddhism, it’s clergy’s political relationships and interactions, and critical exposes on prominent Buddhists are a very sensitive matter that will almost inevitable will endanger any outspoken scholar, and be a possible career breaker.
And that is just Thailand…
The changing face of Xanana Gusmao
This quotation from the Wikipedia article on the History of East Timor gives some idea of the importance of religion in the continuing troubles:
“The Catholic Church in East Timor played an important role in society throughout the Indonesian occupation. While just 20% of East Timorese called themselves Catholics in 1975, the figure surged to reach 95% by the end of the first decade after the invasion.”
It’s only Wikipedia, but these figures indicate a massive Christian campaign to undermine the Indonesian administration of East Timor. It would be fairly safe to conclude that a good deal of the violence from the Indonesian side was due to the usual Moslem reaction to Christian proselytising.
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
This note from Prof. Mazard is useful challenge for future studies. However, it overlooks a good deal of past work on interconnection between political development and religion, much at book lenght. Some examples are:
– many writings of S. Sivalak, such as “Siam in Crisis”
– “The Engaged Buddhism of Sulak Sivaraksa” by Matteo Pistono
– “Dhammic Socialism” by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
– “Buddhadasa: Theravada Buddhism and Modernist Reform in Thailand” by Peter A. Jackson
– “The Middle Path for the Future of Thailand” by Sippanonda Ketudat
– “The Life of Prince-Patriarch Vajiranana” edited and translated by Craig Reynolds
– “Political Beliefs of the Thai Sangha” by Pholsak Jirakraisiri
– “Modern Thai Radical Thought: The Siamization of Marxism and its Theoretical Problems” a thesis by Yuangrat Wedel, especially the chapter “Religion: Buddha and Marx” p. 213-251 and “Radical Thought, Thai Mind” by Yuangrat and Paul Wedel
– “Buddhism and Politics in Thailand: A Study of Socio-political Change and Political Activism of the Thai Sangha,” “Political Patronage and Control Over the Sangha” and “Political Buddhism in Southeast Asia” by Somboon Suksamran
– “Buddhism, democracy and identity in Thailand” by Duncan McCargo
– “Buddhist Politics and Their Revolutionary Origins in Thailand” by Charles F. Keyes
– “Buddhism, Power and Political Order” edited by Ian Harris
– “Centre and Periphery: Buddhism and Politics in Modern Thailand” by Donald Swearer
-“Rethinking Buddhism and Development:
The Emergence of Environmentalist Monks in Thailand” by Susan M. Darlington
– “Buddhism and Postmodern Imaginings in Thailand: The Religiosity of Urban Space
Buddhism and Postmodern Imaginings in Thailand” by James Taylor
Hope this is helpful – Niphon
The changing face of Xanana Gusmao
Yes, I won’t claim it did not happen at all (100 %), but far more Jews chose conversion, or the Portuguese Government would not claim, and DNA homological sequencing indicate, that Portugal is practically “all” Converso. The Jews certainly did not return under Salazar, and today there are few “pure” Jews in Portugal and yet probably 1-2 million descendants of Conversos. Had they been all burned, they couldn’t “descend” as it were, as these all originate from original Jews in Portugal in the 15-16th Centuries. I have been to Lisbon and Burgos and asked some local historians (who are scholars) and without them going so far (which would lack credibility) as to absolve all guilt from Medieval Portugal, the Jews were treated far better than in Spain. Auto-da-Fes ? Yes, they happened in Portugal, as did Portuguese Catholics (especially Jesuits and La Sallians) who hid Jews in monasteries (yes, even back then), which almost never happened at all in Spain, under Queen Isabella (not to be too flippant), yet Franco due to some mythological Converso origins, did not kill the 2000 Jews left in Spain, that hadn’t already been expelled or killed, about 400 years earlier, leaving hardly any Jews in Spain. There are some Conversos in Andalucia and in Castille, but the Basque myth about being one of the lost tribes of Israel, is a myth. This is the VERY reason, Rajoy instituted a very “innovative” right of return policy where any Jew who could claim descent from Spaniards who were Sepahrdim, could get
automatic Spanish citizenship. Guilt much ? Portugal has no analogous government program simply because so many Portuguese are descended from Conversos. But, who knows ? Maybe Lisbon will follow Madrid in good order.
The changing face of Xanana Gusmao
More in Spain, but plenty in Lisbon here:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2155-auto-da-fe#anchor5
Thai Coup: A normal way of life
Perhaps Mr. Teak is not far from the Truth.
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
I can’t see it :
“Buddhism, itself, is profoundly connected to contemporary political reality; the religion responds to politics, and the political field responds to the religion”
Other than a few case studies of a few rogue, or environmentalist monks, I can’t see there is any significant interaction.
And I have been ordained for 18 years
Blind spot in Buddhist Studies
Here are some links to a recent “blasphemy” incident in Burma (involving an ad for a night club making Buddha look like a DJ) which reveals a lot about how many people in Burma view Buddhism (as part of their national identity). There is a big chasm between reality of Buddhism in Southeast Asian countries and what people like Richard Gere, not to mention self-serving academics in Universities, believes “pure Buddhism” should be about. As Buddha taught: “it’s all perception, smoke and mirrors” or as the Beatles sang: “nothing is real, strawberry fields forever”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30426767
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/64126317/kiwi-in-myanmar-jail-unable-to-see-wife-embassy-reps
http://www.dvb.no/analysis/blasphemy-and-offence-in-burmese-buddhism-myanmar/46504
The changing face of Xanana Gusmao
Portugal never “burned” Jews; most converted to Catholicism but were not expelled or burned as in Spain, but remained Conversos. Spinoza’s grandfather who chose to move to Nantes, in France, was expelled by Catholic France, not Portugal, and Baruch Spinoza’s grandfather settled in Rotterdam. Spinoza continued to write in Portuguese, Ladino, Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Latin and Greek, as befitting a philosophical polyglot. It was later discovered in Burgos, Portugal, the original town of the Spinozas, that almost all the inhabitants in that region were descended from Conversos, if not all of Portugal itself. Portugal was no picnic for Jews, obviously, and all were required to become Catholic, but had they all been burned or expelled, there would not be so many confirmed Conversos in Portugal today, many of whom have officially returned to Judaism by re-conversion via
Portuguese Orthodox Rabbis. Jews may have been forced to practice Judaism secretly in Portugal, but at least, they could practice their faith; in Spain, they were expelled or burned, no matter their official devotion to Catholicism. The Netherlands was better than either, but not every Jew could afford to move there, so some move to Curacao, where there was freedom of belief for all (and some even
moved to Melaka and Goa during the 16th Century, Portuguese territory, but where
freedom of worship was guaranteed; the reason why remnants of Conversos can even be found in far-flung Melaka and Goa).