Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

This book analyses the transplantation, development and adaptation of the two largest Tibetan and Zen Buddhist organizations currently active on the British religious landscape: the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). The key contributions of recent scholarship are evaluated and organized thematically to provide a framework for analysis, and the history and current landscape of contemporary Tibetan and Zen Buddhist practice in Britain are also mapped out. A number of patterns and processes identified elsewhere are exemplified, although certain assumptions made about the nature of 'British Buddhism' are subjected to critical scrutiny and challenged. BOOK COVER......Page 1 TITLE......Page 6 COPYRIGHT......Page 7 DEDICATION......Page 8 CONTENTS......Page 10 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 13 PREFACE......Page 14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 16 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 17 PART I: REVIEW AND CONTEXTUALISATION......Page 18 1 BUDDHISM IN BRITAIN: REVIEW AND CONTEXTUALISATION......Page 20 PART II: THE NEW KADAMPA TRADITION......Page 52 2 THE NEW KADAMPA TRADITION: BACKGROUND AND CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXT......Page 54 3 THE EMERGENCE OF THE NKT IN BRITAIN......Page 70 4 THE IDENTITY OF THE NKT......Page 98 PART III: THE ORDER OF BUDDHIST CONTEMPLATIVES......Page 134 5 THE ORDER OF BUDDHIST CONTEMPLATIVES: BACKGROUND AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT......Page 136 6 THE LOTUS BLOSSOM PERIOD, 1976–83......Page 162 7 THE LATER PERIOD: ROUTINISATION AND CONSOLIDATION......Page 200 PART IV: EPILOGUE AND CONCLUSION......Page 226 8 EPILOGUE AND CONCLUSION......Page 228 NOTES......Page 244 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 259 INDEX......Page 267 "This book analyses the transplantation, development and adaptation of the two largest Tibetan and Zen Buddhist organisations currently active on the British religious landscape: the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). The key contributions of recent scholarship are evaluated organised thematically to provide a framework for analysis, and the history and current landscape of contemporary Tibetan and Zen Buddhist practice in Britain are also mapped out. A number of patterns and processes identified elsewhere are exemplified, although certain assumptions made about the nature of 'British Buddhism' are subjected to critical scrutiny and challenged."--BOOK JACKET

This book analyses the transplantation, development and adaptation of the two largest Tibetan and Zen Buddhist organizations currently active on the British religious landscape: the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). The key contributions of recent scholarship are evaluated and organised thematically to provide a framework for analysis, and the history and current landscape of contemporary Tibetan and Zen Buddhist practice in Britain are also mapped out. A number of patterns and processes identified elsewhere are exemplified, although certain assumptions made about the nature of 'British Buddhism' are subjected to critical scrutiny and challenged.