“THAI BUDDHISM BEYOND THAILAND: A PERSPECTIVE FROM A MULTI-SITED ETHNOGRAPHY ON BUDDHIST GIVING AND ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD”
Mayumi Okabe
Associate Professor, School of Contemporary Sociology, Chukyo University
Visiting Scholar, Department of Anthropology, UW-Madison
Based on the presenter’s fieldwork on the management of Thai Buddhist temples, this study will argue the possibilities for ethnographic research on Buddhist giving “dāna” and its organizational accountabilities in a globalizing world.
Previous studies on Thai Buddhism outside Thailand have mainly focused on cultural transmission and identity construction among Thai diasporas. By referring to the debates of Buddhist giving in anthropology, this study will examine the logic and values for the reasoning of legitimacy and autonomy of Thai Buddhist organizations as multiple norms coexist and compete in contemporary societies.
This study will introduce the cases of Japan, where the number of Thai Buddhist temples has rapidly increased in recent years, compared to some cases in the United States, where there has been an initiative in the overseas propagation of Thai Buddhism for a while. The cases here also illustrate how to address the uncertainty inherent to “dāna” practices and the sustainability expected for organizations in Japan’s post-WWII socio-political landscape.