Buddhism in the Global Eye : Beyond East and West

Buddhism in the Global Eye focuses on the importance of a global context and transnational connections for understanding Buddhist modernizing movements. It also explores how Asian agency has been central to the development of modern Buddhism, and provides theoretical reflections that seek to overcome misleading East-West binaries.

Using case studies from China, Japan, Vietnam, India, Tibet, Canada, and the USA, the book introduces new research that reveals the permeable nature of certain categories, such as "modern", "global", and "contemporary" Buddhism. In the book, contributors recognize the multiple nodes of intra-Asian and global influence. For example, monks travelled among Asian countries creating networks of information and influence, mutually stimulating each other's modernization movements. The studies demonstrate that in modernization movements, Asian reformers mobilized all available cultural resources both to adapt local forms of Buddhism to a new global context and to shape new foreign concepts to local Asian forms.

“Buddhism in the Global Eye problematizes the dated categories of “East” and “West,” geographical and cultural binaries that have been central to many descriptions of Buddhism. In dismantling them, this book succeeds admirably. This book will serve to enhance our understanding of Buddhism as an Asian phenomenon for years to come.” —Paul Fuller, Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at the University of Cardiff, UK

“This is an important collection of projects that plumb the global flows of Buddhism during the modern age, with many exciting newer voices that haven't appeared much in previous publications. The richness of these projects will make it a crucial go-to book for people working in this area.” —Jeff Wilson, Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies, Renison University College, University of Waterloo, Canada