The Hybridity of Buddhism

The Hybridity of Buddhism

Contemporary Encounters between Tibetan and Chinese Traditions in Taiwan and the Mainland.

Études thématiques no. 29

Date de publication
10-2018

 

The articles published in this volume are the result of a three-year project entitled “Practices of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan” (2012–2015), funded by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchanges. In an attempt to contribute to the field of the studies on the globalization of religions, this volume adopts the concept of hybridity as the principal model of investigation of the continuities and ruptures in the practices of Tibetan Buddhism, both on a global level and in interaction with the local religious traditions of Taiwanese and Chinese societies. Hybridity helps cultural traditions (the religious and material Tibetan ones) to recruit new adherents (mostly Han) and to be recognized locally, regionally, and globally, as new forms of distinct religiosity emerge. The volume focuses on the agencies at the origin of these hybridities, i.e. the Chinese, Taiwanese or Tibetan masters involved, and examines the strategies they employ in order to position themselves as legitimate masters of Tibetan Buddhism.