This book is a remarkable synthesis and empathetic interpretation of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. No other single book matches its depth and breadth, or its balance between scholarly interpretation and sensitive first person portrayal. The author focuses his analysis on Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia as a dynamic, complex system of thought and practice imbedded in the respective cultures, societies, and histories of Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. The book discusses three distinct but interrelated aspects of this system: the popular tradition in terms of paradigms of ideal action, rituals, festivals, and rites of passage; Buddhism as civic religion in terms of King Asoka as the paradigmatic Buddhist monarch, cosmology and kingship, and Buddhism and the modern nation state; and modern transformations of the tradition in terms of the changing roles of the monk and the laity, modern reform movements, and Buddhism in the West.

Product Description: The Legend of Queen Cama (Camadevivamsa), an early fifteenth-century Pali chronicle written by Mahathera Bodhiramsi, recounts the story of the founding of the kingdom of Haripunjaya in the Chiang Mai valley of Northern Thailand in the seventh century C...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Book by Henry, Patrick Gillespie, Swearer, Donald K.

Product Description: Discusses the geography, cultural patterns, and political and social structures of the diverse region including the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma.