BEING BUDDHIST IN A CHRISTIAN WORLD by Sharon A. Suh ( 9780295983783 )

Item Details

Title:

BEING BUDDHIST IN A CHRISTIAN WORLD
GENDER AND COMMUNITY IN A KOREAN AMERICAN TEMPLE

By:

Sharon A. Suh

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£35.00

Our price:

£31.50

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10% off

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£3.50

ISBN 10:

0295983787

ISBN 13:

9780295983783

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Publisher:

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

Pub. date:

1 February, 2004

Series:

American Ethnic and Cultural Studies

Pages:

256

Description:

Aiming to challenge Western notions of Buddhism, the author shows how Korean Americans at Sa Chal Temple in Los Angeles have applied Buddhist doctrines to the project of finding and knowing the self in everyday life. It also examines the implications of this grounding when the religious tradition is considered to be socially marginal.

Synopsis:

Challenging Western notions of Buddhism as a self-effacing path to rebirth and enlightenment, Sharon Suh shows how first-generation Korean Americans at Sa Chal Temple in Los Angeles have applied Buddhist doctrines to the project of finding and knowing the self in everyday life. Buddhism, for these Buddhists, serves as a source of empowerment and as a wellspring of practical and spiritual relief from myriad everyday troubles.Painful life events and circumstances--psychological stresses, marital discord, adjustments to immigrant life, racial and religious minority status--prompt a turning toward religion in an effort to build self-esteem. The process of coming to find and know the self initiates a transformation that, far from taking future rebirths as its focus, enables the self to enact change in the present. Oral histories from twenty-five men and twenty-five women also offer unexpected insights into distinctly male and female forms of Buddhist worship.As a commentary on ethnicity, Being Buddhist in a Christian World challenges much of the existing literature in Asian American studies by placing religion at the center and illustrating its importance for shaping ethnic identity. Not only does Suh ask how Korean American identity might be grounded in religion, she goes on to examine the implications of this grounding when the religious tradition is considered to be socially marginal.

Publication:

Imprint:

University of Washington Press

Returns:

Returnable

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