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The Devotees of Buddhism
Anthropologist Marion Dapsance conducts the first field survey of Buddhism in the West, delving into the heart of a hijacked religion: sectarian organization, sexual aberrations, financial pyramids, hierarchical humiliations...
The Devotees of Buddhism
The temple is packed. "It stinks in here," says the master in English. "You mustn't do any more prostrations, or else you'll have to open the windows." A tall, skinny steward discreetly points out that it's pouring rain, and that perhaps this isn't entirely appropriate. The master then grabs him by the hair and shakes him back and forth. "Who are you to judge? I'm your master, you're my slave. Ah, it may not be politically correct with you Westerners, but in Tibet it's like that. You have to submit totally. You must never challenge a great master. Anthropologist Marion Dapsance conducts the first field survey of Buddhism in the West, delving into the heart of a hijacked religion that leaves you speechless: sectarian organization, sexual aberrations, financial pyramids, hierarchical humiliations. Marion Dapsance holds a doctorate in the anthropology of religion from the École pratique des hautes études (Paris), and is currently in residence at Columbia University in New York, where she teaches a course on modern Buddhism.
Minority Religions and Fraud
Analysing both fraud and religion as social constructs with different functions and meanings attributed to them, this book raises issues that are central to debates about the limits of religious toleration in diverse societies, and the possible harm (as well as benefits) that religious organisations can visit upon society and individuals. There has already been a lively debate concerning the structural context in which abuse, especially sexual abuse, can be perpetrated within religion. Contributors to the volume proceed from the premise that similar arguments about ways in which structure and power may be conducive to abuse can be made about fraud and deception. Both can contribute to abuse,...
When Tibetan Meditation Goes Global
This book provides an in-depth examination of the Yungdrung Bon religion in light of globalization. In its global dimension, Bon has been attracting a growing number of Westerners, particularly to its Dzogchen teachings and meditation practices. In this expansion, Bon operates in a dynamic context where forces that create changes in the tradition coexist, sometimes in tension and sometimes in tandem, with other forces that aim to preserve it. In tracing the process through which Bon has become a global religion, this monograph narrates the story of the principal figures who initially facilitated this transmission, following their journey from Tibet to India and Nepal. The narrative then move...
Alexandra David-Néel
Marion Dapsance's new biography of the French exploratrice extraordinaire, Alexandra David-Néel, delves into her subject's prolific writings to discover her real message and reinterpret the myth that has grown up around her for almost a century. Though little known outside Western Europe, Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969) is celebrated in her native France as a major spiritual figure of the 20th century, a fearless adventurer, the bringer of Buddhism to the West, an erudite chronicler and author of over 40 books. But far from adopting Buddhism, she is revealed in this work as a staunch materialist, hostile to all forms of religion. We follow her journey from Catholic convert to Protestantism, to her obsession with late 19th-century esotericism and finally to nihilism and anarchism, before she invented her own belief system after decades in the Far East, which she called Buddhist Modernism. This book shows how her free-thinking independence is the true source of the myth of the intrepid journalist-orientalist, the "lamp of wisdom," the "woman with soles of wind."
The Assimilation of Yogic Religions through Pop Culture
The image of the meditating yogi has become a near-universal symbol for transcendent perfection used to market everything from perfume and jewelry to luxury resorts and sports cars, and popular culture has readily absorbed it along similar lines. Yet the religious traditions grounding such images are often readily abandoned or caricatured beyond recognition, or so it would seem. The essays contained in The Assimilation of Yogic Religions through Pop Culture explore the references to yogis and their native cultures of India, Tibet, and China as they are found in the stories of many famous icons of popular culture, from Batman, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange to Star Trek, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, and others. In doing so, the authors challenge the reader to look deeper into the seemingly superficial appropriation of the image of the yogi and Asian religious themes found in all manner of comic books, novels, television, movies, and theater and to carefully examine how they are being represented and what exactly is being said.
Modern Carmelite nuns and contemplative identities
Discalced Carmelite convents are among the most influential wellsprings of female spirituality in the Catholic tradition, as the names of Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux and Edith Stein attest. Behind these ‘great Carmelites’ stood communities of women who developed discourses on their relationship with God and their identity as a spiritual elite in the church and society. This book looks at these discourses as formulated by Carmelites in the Netherlands, from their arrival there in 1872 up to the recent past, providing an in-depth case study of the spiritualities of modern women contemplatives. The female religious life was a transnational phenomenon, and the book draws on sources and scholarship in English, Dutch, French and German to provide insights on gendered spirituality, memory and the post-conciliar renewal of the religious life.
The Hidden Face of Dalai Lama
Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Dalai Lama embodies the martyrdom of a Tibet subjected to Chinese rule. A symbol of wisdom, it is adored and even sacred in the West. Therefore, who would question this living god who claims to carry with him the hope of freedom of an entire people? Maxime Vivas dares to tackle the myth: what if the Dalai Lama was a theocrat who filled the coffers of his palaces with gold while the Tibetans were only serfs who were denied any education? What if he played into the hands of the Americans and the CIA more than that of the Tibetans he claims to defend? What if he had been aware for many years of the sexual assaults, rapes and acts of pedophilia, which were recently revealed in his religious movement? Based on the words of the Dalai Lama, on the testimonies of proselytes as well as on confidential documents, the author paints a vitriolic portrait of "His Holiness" and shows us that everything is not so zen in the kingdom of Buddha. Maxime Vivas, former literary referent for ATTAC, is a novelist (Roger Vailland Prize 1997) and essayist. It is translated into thirteen languages
Le wokisme nouvelle morale du Bien ?
Bettina Flores dans cet essai extrêmement documenté, montre les abus que les idéologies woke LGBT+, la nouvelle religion ou « morale du bien », entraînent comme conséquences dans la société. Même si le transsexualisme, le transgenrisme et la transidentité restent un phénomène très marginal dans les pays riches occidentaux, son idéologie prend de l’ampleur depuis une vingtaine d’années. Autant pour un adulte la souffrance que peut entraîner le fait de ne pas se sentir à sa place dans son sexe de naissance et faire le choix d’en changer est tout à fait audible voire légitime, du moment qu’il est conscientisé et accepté avec tous les risques qu’il comporte, autan...
