Buddhism and Society

About the Book

The current Western interest in Buddhism and other Eastern religions is--among other reasons--both the result of and the stimulation for an entire library of books purporting to bring the Wisdom of the East to an audience for whom the wisdom of the West has failed. This book is not an example of that genre. It is an attempt to interpret Buddhism in the light of some current theories about religion. As a work of scholarship, rather than a homiletic tract or an apologetic treatise, its aim is to understand Buddhism as one historical variant of the generic human attempt to find meaning and hope in a sacred order that transcends the mundane order of existence; its aime is not to encourage or discourage either a devotional or a soteriological interest in Buddhism.

About the Author

Melford Elliot "Mel" Spiro (April 26, 1920 – October 18, 2014) was an American cultural anthropologist specializing in religion and psychological anthropology.

Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition

I. PROLOGUE
1. Theravada Buddhism: An Anthropological Problem
Introduction
The Problem: The Uniqueness of Buddhism
The Problem Confounded: The Three Systems of Theravada Buddhism
Field Work: The Burmese Setting
Field Work: The Buddhist Setting
Field Work: The Research Problems and the Data
Some Problems in Interpretation

II. BUDDHISM AS AN IDEOLOGICAL SYSTEM
2. Nibbanic Buddhism: A Religion of Radical Salvation
The Founder: The Buddha
The Promise: Deliverance from Suffering
The Technique: The Buddhist Path
The Goal: Nirvana
The Personal Ideal: The Arahant
The Social Ideal: World Renunciation
3. Kammatic Buddhism: I. A Religion of Proximate Salvation
The Shift in the Soteriological Goal
The Normative Basis for Kammatic Buddhism
The Psychological Basis for Kammatic Buddhism
The Shift in the Conception of Dukkha
The Shift in the Conception of Nirvana
The Shift in the Conception of Anattii
4. Kammatic Buddhism: II. The Central Concept of Merit
From Salvation Through Knowledge to Salvation Through Works
Means for Acquiring Merit: Morality
Means for Acquiring Merit: Giving
The Motivational Salience of Merit
A Note on Children
5. Kammatic Buddhism: III. The Key Doctrine of Karma
The Metaphysics of Karma
Psychological Press and the Neutralization of Karma
Merit Transfer and Karma
The Dynamics of Belief in Karma
6. Apotropaic Buddhism: A Religion of Magical Protection
Introduction
Psychological Press and the Reinterpretation of Normative Doctrine
The Canonical Basis for Apotropaic Buddhism
The "Theological" Basis for Apotropaic Buddhism
The Problem of Karma
Religion, Magic, and Buddhism
7. Esoteric Buddhism: A Religion of Chiliastic Expectations
The Major Features of Esoteric Buddhism
Eschatological Buddhism
Millennial Buddhism
Motives and Functions of Belief
Esoteric Buddhism and Burmese Religion

III. BUDDHISM AS A RITUAL SYSTEM
8. The Buddhist Cultus: Its Generic Attributes
A Typology of Ritual Action
Ritual Types and Buddhist Ideological Types
A Note on Children
The Forms of Buddhist Ritual Action
Objects of Ritual Veneration
A Cultic Typology and a Classification of the Buddhist Cultus
9. The Ceremonial Cycle: I. Calendrical Rituals
The Daily Cycle
The Weekly and Monthly Cycles
The Annual Cycle
10. The Ceremonial Cycle: II. Life-Cycle Rituals
Introduction
Buddhist Initiation
Death and Burial
11. Crisis Rituals
Causes and Occasions of Crisis
The Use of Buddhist Sacra
The Use of Buddhist Spells
The Use of Dana
The Use of Meditation
Non-Buddhist Magic

IV. BUDDHISM AS A MONASTIC SYSTEM
12. Monasticism: I. The Normative Structure
The Monk as Religious Virtuoso
The Function of Monasticism
The Rule
13. Monasticism: II. The Social Structure
The Daily Routine
The Structure of the Monastery
The Structure of the Order
14. The Monk: I. Recruitment Structure
Introduction
The Sociological Background
Countervailing Influences
Some Motivational Bases for Recruitment: Conscious
Some Motivational Bases for Recruitment: Unconscious
15. The Monk: IL Character Structure
Persistent Characteristics of the "Worldling"
Intellectual Level
Monastic Morality
The Moral State of the Sangha
16. The Sangha and the State
Introduction
Church and State in Early Buddhism
Church and State in Burmese History
Church and State in Contemporary Burma
The Political Culture of the Contemporary Burmese Sangha
17. The Status of the Monkhood in Burmese Society
Veneration of the Monkhood
The Bases for Veneration: Expressive
The Bases for Veneration: Instrumental
Ambivalence and Hostility to the Monkhood
Conflict Between Laymen and Monks

V. BUDDHISM AND THE WORLD
18. Buddhism and the World: A Critique
The Problem
Nibbanic Buddhism and the World
The Intention of the Present Analysis
19. Buddhism and Burmese Society
Buddhist Weltanschauung and the Burmese Social System
Buddhist Soteriology and the Burmese Economy
Buddhist Affiliation and Burmese Social Integration

Appendix: On the Burmese Romanization
References Cited
Index