Monastic Economic Reform at Rong-bo monastery

Towards an Understanding of Contemporary Tibetan Monastic Revival and Development in A-mdo

Authors

  • Jane Caple University of Leeds

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v27i2.197

Keywords:

Tibetan Buddhist revival, contemporary Chinese Buddhism, monastic economy, dGe-lugs-pa, A-mdo, moral economy

Abstract

Scholarly focus on the political relationship between monasteries and the state has obscured other dynamics in the post-Mao revival and development of dGe-lugs-pa monasticism in China and led to its marginalization in wider discussions about Buddhism in the contemporary world. The present article seeks to broaden our understanding by examining economic reforms at a monastery in A-mdo. Based on fieldwork conducted 2008-2009, it argues that while recent monastic economic developments converge with state policies, monks’ narratives place agency for reforms within the monastic community and present impetus for reform as a moral issue. Consideration of the moral dimension of reforms, drawing on Sayer’s conception of moral economy, allows for a thicker understanding of contemporary monastic development which takes into account dynamics that extend beyond monastic interactions with the political and hegemonic power of the Chinese state.

Author Biography

  • Jane Caple, University of Leeds
    Doctoral candidate at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds, funded by a White Rose East Asia Centre (WREAC) scholarship.

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Published

2011-01-25

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Articles

How to Cite

Caple, J. (2011). Monastic Economic Reform at Rong-bo monastery: Towards an Understanding of Contemporary Tibetan Monastic Revival and Development in A-mdo. Buddhist Studies Review, 27(2), 197-219. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v27i2.197