Dixie Dharma
Inside a Buddhist Temple in the American South
By Jeff Wilson
296 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 18 halftones, 6 tables
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-1887-6
Published: August 2014 -
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8078-6997-0
Published: April 2012
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Introducing a host of overlooked characters, including Buddhist circuit riders, modernist Pure Land priests, and pluralistic Buddhists, Wilson shows how regional specificity manifests itself through such practices as meditation vigils to heal the wounds of the slave trade. He argues that southern Buddhists at once use bodily practices, iconography, and meditation tools to enact distinct sectarian identities even as they enjoy a creative hybridity.
About the Author
Jeff Wilson is associate professor of religious studies and East Asian studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo.
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Reviews
“Wilson presents an impressive view of a plural Buddhism finding a place in the midst of the evangelical South.”--Religion in American History
“This will be enlightening and well worth reading by those specializing in religious studies or interested in American regional cultures.”--Library Journal
“Wilson’s highly readable study is an excellent, much-needed contribution to American religious history in general, and in particular to the study of American Buddhism. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.”--Choice
“The power of this book is that for the first time . . . we are given access to the actual experiences of people practicing Buddhism in the South.”--Buddhadarma
“Wilson’s contribution to American religious history and American Buddhist studies is admirable.”--Journal of Southern Religion
“An important reminder that while broad studies of religious identity are important, they must be seasoned with ethnographic views from below. . . . Graduate students looking for dissertation project should consult Wilson’s forward facing conclusion.”--Sociology of Religion