Sacred Economies

Buddhist Monasticism and Territoriality in Medieval China

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Asia, Religion & Spirituality
Cover of the book Sacred Economies by Michael Walsh, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Walsh ISBN: 9780231519939
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: March 25, 2010
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Walsh
ISBN: 9780231519939
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: March 25, 2010
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Buddhist monasteries in medieval China employed a variety of practices to ensure their ascendancy and survival. Most successful was the exchange of material goods for salvation, as in the donation of land, which allowed monks to spread their teachings throughout China. By investigating a variety of socioeconomic spaces produced and perpetuated by Chinese monasteries, Michael J. Walsh reveals the "sacred economies" that shaped early Buddhism and its relationship with consumption and salvation.

Centering his study on Tiantong, a Buddhist monastery that has thrived for close to seventeen centuries in southeast China, Walsh follows three main topics: the spaces monks produced, within and around which a community could pursue a meaningful existence; the social and economic avenues through which monasteries provided diverse sacred resources and secured the primacy of Buddhist teachings within an agrarian culture; and the nature of "transactive" participation within monastic spaces, which later became a fundamental component of a broader Chinese religiosity.

Unpacking these sacred economies and repositioning them within the history of religion in China, Walsh encourages a different approach to the study of Chinese religion, emphasizing the critical link between religious exchange and the production of material culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Buddhist monasteries in medieval China employed a variety of practices to ensure their ascendancy and survival. Most successful was the exchange of material goods for salvation, as in the donation of land, which allowed monks to spread their teachings throughout China. By investigating a variety of socioeconomic spaces produced and perpetuated by Chinese monasteries, Michael J. Walsh reveals the "sacred economies" that shaped early Buddhism and its relationship with consumption and salvation.

Centering his study on Tiantong, a Buddhist monastery that has thrived for close to seventeen centuries in southeast China, Walsh follows three main topics: the spaces monks produced, within and around which a community could pursue a meaningful existence; the social and economic avenues through which monasteries provided diverse sacred resources and secured the primacy of Buddhist teachings within an agrarian culture; and the nature of "transactive" participation within monastic spaces, which later became a fundamental component of a broader Chinese religiosity.

Unpacking these sacred economies and repositioning them within the history of religion in China, Walsh encourages a different approach to the study of Chinese religion, emphasizing the critical link between religious exchange and the production of material culture.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Polishing Your Prose by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The Lyrical in Epic Time by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The Domestication of Language by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The Varieties of Temporal Experience by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The Universe as It Really Is by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book China's Philological Turn by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book In Pursuit of Privilege by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book Teen Movies by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The China Boom by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book Book of Value by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book Experiments in Democracy by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book The New Yorker Theater and Other Scenes from a Life at the Movies by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book Governance Without a State? by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book Beyond the Secular West by Michael Walsh
Cover of the book How Novels Think by Michael Walsh
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy