Becoming Buddhist: Experiences of Socialization and Self-Transformation in Two Australian Buddhist Centres

by Glenys Eddy

Publisher:

Continuum

, 2012

What does it mean to be a Western Buddhist? For the predominantly Anglo-Australian
affiliates of two Western Buddhist centres in Australia, the author proposes an
answer to this question, and finds support for it from interviews and her own
participant-observation experience.Practitioners'
prior experiences of experimentation with spiritual groups and practices-and
their experiences of participation, practice and self-transformation-are
examined with respect to their roles in practitioners' appropriation of the
Buddhist worldview, and their subsequent commitment to the path to
enlightenment.Religious commitment is
experienced as a decision-point, itself the effect of the individual's
experimental immersion in the Centre's activities.During this time the claims of the Buddhist
worldview are tested against personal experience and convictions.

 

Using rich ethnographic data and Lofland and
Skonovd's experimental conversion motif as a model for theorizing the stages of
involvement leading to commitment, the author demonstrates that this study has
a wider application to our understanding of the role of alternative religions
in western contexts.

Features

Presents contemporary views of religious conversion, and interrelated notions of religious seekerhood and identity transformation.
Provides rich contemporary Australian Western Buddhist ethnographic data for analysis.
Examines the individual level of involvement with Buddhism, and its implications for religious change.
Illustrates the process of socialization from encounter to commitment.

Contents

Foreword \ Acknowledgements \ Glossary \ 1. Approaching the Western Buddhist Experience \ 2. Instruction and Practice at the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre \ 3. Self-Transformation through Vipassana Practice \ 4. Participation and Exploration at Vajrayana Institute \ 5. The Practice of Self-Transformation at Vajrayana Institute \ 6. An Overview of the Experimental Journey: Vipassana- and Vajrayana-Insights\ Appendices \ Notes \ References \ Index

Praise for Becoming Buddhist

'Becoming Buddhist explores the motivations and experiences of Western converts to Buddhism in an insightful and original way. This book is an invaluable resource for both scholars of Buddhism, and scholars of the contemporary Western spiritual marketplace.'

Product Details

• Title: Becoming Buddhist: Experiences of Socialization and Self-Transformation in Two Australian Buddhist Centres
• Author: Glenys Eddy
• Publisher: Continuum
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781441144645, 9781350101029, 1350101028, 1441144641
• Resource ID: LLS:9781441144645
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-15T16:29:46Z

About the Author

Dr Glenys Eddy completed her doctoral thesis in the Department of Studies
in Religion at the University of Sydney in 2007. She currently works as a
Research Administrative Officer at the University of Sydney.