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Book Cover
E-book
Author Cassaniti, Julia, author.

Title Living Buddhism : mind, self, and emotion in a Thai community / Julia Cassaniti
Published Ithaca ; London : Cornell University Press, 2015
©2015

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Introduction: A world of change -- Emotion -- Cool hearts -- Heat -- Attachment -- Letting go -- Holding on -- Karma -- Cause and effect
Summary In Living Buddhism, Julia Cassaniti explores Buddhist ideas of impermanence, nonattachment, and intention as they are translated into everyday practice in contemporary Thailand. Although most lay people find these philosophical concepts difficult to grasp, Cassaniti shows that people do in fact make an effort to comprehend them and integrate them as guides for their everyday lives. In doing so, she makes a convincing case that complex philosophical concepts are not the sole property of religious specialists and that ordinary lay Buddhists find in them a means for dealing with life's difficulties. More broadly, the book speaks to the ways that culturally informed ideas are part of the psychological processes that we all use to make sense of the world around us. In an approachable first-person narrative style that combines interview and participant-observation material gathered over the course of two years in the community, Cassaniti shows how Buddhist ideas are understood, interrelated, and reinforced through secular and religious practices in everyday life. She compares the emotional experiences of Buddhist villagers with religious and cultural practices in a nearby Christian village. Living Buddhism highlights the importance of change, calmness (as captured in the Thai phrase jai yen, or a cool heart), and karma; Cassaniti's narrative untangles the Thai villagers' feelings and problems and the solutions they seek. -- Amazon.com
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Health -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism.
Buddhism -- Thailand -- Chiang Mai
RELIGION -- Comparative Religion.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
Buddhism
Health -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism
Manners and customs
Buddhismus
Religionsausübung
Alltag
SUBJECT Chiang Mai (Thailand : Province) -- Social life and customs
Subject Thailand -- Chiang Mai
Thailand -- Chiang Mai (Province)
Provinz Chiang Mại
Thailand.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781501700989
1501700987