Harris I. (ed.) Buddhism, Power and Political Order

London; New York: Routledge, 2007. — 256 p. — (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism). — ISBN: 0-415-41018-5.Weber's claim that Buddhism is an otherworldly religion is only partially true. Early sources indicate that the Buddha was sometimes diverted from supramundane interests to dwell on a variety of politically-related matters. The significance of Asoka Maurya as a paradigm for later traditions of Buddhist kingship is also well-attested. However, there has been little scholarly effort to integrate findings on the extent to which Buddhism interacted with the political order in the classical and modern states of Theravada Asia into a wider, comparative study.
This volume brings together the brightest minds in the study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Their contributions create a more coherent account of the relations between Buddhism and political order in the late pre-modern and modern period by questioning the contested relationship between monastic and secular power. In doing so, they expand the very nature of what is known as the 'Theravada'.
Buddhism, Power and Political Order offers new insights for scholars of Buddhism, and it will stimulate new debates.Ian Harris is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Cumbria and was Senior Scholar at the Becket Institute, St. Hugh's College, University of Oxford from 2001-4. He is co-founder of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and has written widely on aspects of Buddhist ethics.Introduction: Buddhism, power and politics in Theravada Buddhist lands / Ian Harris
Idealism and pragmatism: a dilemma in the current monastic education systems of Burma and Thailand / Khammai Dhammasami
Rajadhamma confronts Leviathan: Burmese political theory in the 1870s / Andrew Huxley
Colonial knowledge and Buddhist education in Burma / Juliane Schober
Reconstructing the Cambodian polity: Buddhism, kingship and the quest for legitimacy / Peter Gyallay-Pap
The Cambodian hospital for monks / John Marston
Buddhism, power and political order in pre-twentieth century Laos / Volker Grabowsky
Past, present and future in Buddhist prophetic literature of the Lao / Peter Koret
In defence of the nation: the cult of Nang Thoranee in northeast Thailand / Elizabeth Guthrie
King, sangha and brahmans: ideology, ritual and power in pre-modern Siam / Peter Skilling