Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation(Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

This book analyses the transplantation, development and adaptation of the two largest Tibetan and Zen Buddhist organizations currently active on the British religious landscape: the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). The key contributions of recent scholarship are evaluated and organised thematically to provide a framework for analysis, and the history and current landscape of contemporary Tibetan and Zen Buddhist practice in Britain are also mapped out. A number of patterns and processes identified elsewhere are exemplified, although certain assumptions made about the nature of 'British Buddhism' are subjected to critical scrutiny and challenged.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of Illustrations PART ONE: REVIEW AND CONTEXTUALISATION 1. Buddhism in Britain: Review and Contextualisation: Introduction; Buddhism and British Culture; The Impact of Buddhism on British Culture; The Appeal of Buddhism; The Impact of British Culture on Buddhism; The Transplantation Process; Material Conditions; Trans-Cultural Processes; The Nature of the Incoming Tradition; Policies and Patterns of Adaptation; Policies and Patterns; The Question of Authenticity; Contextualising the NKT and OBC; The British Buddhist Context; Tibetan Buddhism in Britain; Zen Buddhism in Britain PART TWO: THE NEW KADAMPA TRADITION 2. The New Kadampa Tradition: Background and Cross-Cultural Context: Introduction: Contextualising the NKT; Divisions within the Gelug Tradition; The Dorje Shugden Controversy 3. The Emergence of the NKT in Britain: Introduction; Gelug Buddhism in the West: The FPMT; Geshe Kelsang Gyatso; Problems at the Priory; Geshe Kelsang`s Network Takes Shape; Dorje Shugden Reliance in Geshe Kelsang`s Centres; The Crystalisation of the New Kadampa Tradition; The Creation and Announcement of the NKT 4. The Identity of the NKT: Introduction; History and Identity Construction in the NKT; The NKT`s Organisational Structure; Purity and Impurity; Critique of Contemporary Buddhist Practice; NKT Exclusivism; The Missionary Imperative; Engagement and Dialogue; Adaptation within the NKT; Dorje Shugden Reliance; Crisis and Response: The Dorje Shugden Affair; A Rejection of Modernity?; The FPMT Re-visited PART THREE: THE ORDER OF BUDDHIST CONTEMPLATIVES 5. The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives: Background and Early Development: Introduction: Contextualising the OBC; The Emergence of the Zen Mission Society; The Ideological Development of the ZMS, 1962-1976; Aspects of Kennett`s Zen; Buddhism and Western Culture; Buddhism and Gender; The Adaptation of Zen for the West; A Protestant Form of Zen?; Religious Innovation and Charisma 6. The Lotus Blossom Period, 1976-1983: Introduction; Zen Buddhism and Meditative Experience; Kennett`s Religious Experience: Preliminary Considerations; The Phenomenology of Kennett`s Experience; A Contextual Explanation; Developments and Innovations; Assimilation and Rejection; Strategies and Arguments; Text and Context in the OBC: The Wild, White Goose; The Storm Weathered 7. The Later Period: Routinisation and Consolidation: The Routinising Impulse; The Structure and Identity of the OBC; Kennett`s Later Teachings; Assimilation and Stability in the Later Period; Growth and Consolidation in Britain; The OBC and the British Buddhist Context PART FOUR: EPILOGUE AND CONCLUSION 8. Epilogue and Conclusion: Recent Developments in the NKT; Recent Developments in the OBC; Buddhism and British Culture; The Transplantation Process; Policies and Patterns of Adaptation; Constructing History and Resolving Conflict; Conclusion; Bibliography

About the Author :
David N. Kay has lectured and conducted doctoral research into the development and adaptation of Tibetan and Zen forms of Buddhism in Britain at St. Martin's College, Lancaster

Review :
'It meets the strict criteria for a scholarly work while beiing also eminently readable.' - Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 'Kay's book is one of those rare non-fiction works that are difficult to put down.' - The Middle Way