List of Illustrations; Preface; Introduction; One. Rise of the New Laity and the Restitution of the Ternary Order; Two. The Phenomenology of Satipatthana Vipassana Meditation; Three. Sacred Giving and the Politics of Sincerity; Four. The Double Order of Law -- Monks, Gender, and Resistance; Five. From Relations of Power to Relations of Authority -- The Dynamics of Symbolic Legitimacy; Epilogue; Notes; Glossary; References; Index
Summary
Burma's Mass Lay Meditation Movement: Buddhism and the Cultural Construction of Power describes a transformation in Buddhist practice in contemporary Burma. This revitalization movement has had real consequences for how the oppressive military junta, in power since the early 1960s, governs the country. Drawing on more than ten years of extensive fieldwork in Burma, Ingrid Jordt explains how vipassana meditation has brought about a change of worldview for millions of individuals, enabling them to think and act independently of the totalitarian regime. She addresses human r