Many Petals Of The Lotus A -OS

Book Summary

Toronto Sustains A Remarkable Diversity Of Distinct Buddhist Communities. Over 60 Buddhist temples and associations represent a plurality of ethnic, national, and linguistic identities. Here, for the first time, is a rigorous, richly detailed, comparative examination of several groups within five Asian Buddhist communities: Japanese-Canadian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Chinese. With an intimate knowledge of her subject matter, McLellan documents each group's establishment in Canada, and the specific shape of that group's practice today. Innovative forms of worship and ritual services develop from the confrontation with Canadian social attitudes, constraints and policies. Transplantation acts as a catalyst for alterations in gender roles for both Sangha (ordained clergy) and laity, Buddhism, fluidly responding to unstable local, national, and global realities, plays a crucial role in maintaining and reinforcing ethnic identity, and coping with the stress of emigration. Generously circumscribing unfamiliar concepts. and culling a wealth of new information, Many Petals of the Lotus is an essential source book for professionals, and compelling reading for anyone interested in the changing face of Buddhism.

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