Melford E. Spiro 
Buddhism and Society [EPUB ebook] 
A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes

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.



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 h

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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

关于作者

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