Esoteric Theravada
The Story of the Forgotten Meditation Tradition of Southeast Asia
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A groundbreaking exploration of a practice tradition that was nearly lost to history.
Theravada Buddhism, often understood as the school that most carefully preserved the practices taught by the Buddha, has undergone tremendous change over time. Prior to Western colonialism in Asia—which brought Western and modernist intellectual concerns, such as the separation of science and religion, to bear on Buddhism—there existed a tradition of embodied, esoteric, and culturally regional Theravada meditation practices. This once-dominant traditional meditation system, known as borān kammatthāna, is related to—yet remarkably distinct from—Vipassana and other Buddhist and secular mindfulness practices that would become the hallmark of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. Drawing on a quarter century of research, scholar Kate Crosby offers the first holistic discussion of borān kammatthāna, illuminating the historical events and cultural processes by which the practice has been marginalized in the modern era.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this insightful analysis, Crosby (Theravada Buddhism), a professor of Buddhist studies at King's College, investigates the history and cultural context of boran kammatthana, or old meditation. Crosby opens with an exploration of boran kammatthana's position in theravada Buddhism throughout Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, and its marginalization during the colonial and postcolonial era. According to Crosby, colonialism's focus on science and secularization undermined various spiritual traditions, leading boran kammatthana to become disconnected from a holistic network of integrated practices. Through social and political shifts in Southeast Asia, boran kammatthana was gradually supplanted by a theravada tradition that emphasized textual study, scientific rationalism, and commonsense understandings of texts. As for boran kammatthana itself, Crosby explains it is an orthodox practice following third-century Abhidhamma frameworks that focused on integrating and systematizing early Buddhist doctrines. Crosby's careful and robust study will be eye-opening for Western Buddhist circles. While the barrier of entry is rather high for lay readers, those with a deep familiarity with Buddhism will find this stimulating.
