Buddhism under Capitalism

This book argues that Buddhism has spread due to globalized capitalism, and explores how capitalism is also impacting Buddhists and Buddhism today.

Edited by two leading scholars in Buddhist studies, the book examines how capitalism and neo-liberalism have shaped global perceptions of Buddhism, as well as specific local practices and attitudes. It examines the institutional practices that sustained the spread of Buddhism for two and a half millennia, and the adaptation of Buddhist institutions in contemporary, global economic systems—particularly in Europe and the United States over the last century and half.

These innovative essays on the interfaces between Buddhism and capitalism will prompt readers to rethink the connection between Buddhism and secular society. Case studies include digital capitalism, tourism, and monasticism, and are drawn from the USA, Tibet, China, Japan, and Thailand.

[The] volume as a whole challenges the common stereotype that Buddhism is a world-denying religion not involved in economic activities. While gift-merit exchanges were acknowledged and encouraged at the time of the Buddha, such exchanges have gradually transformed into more nuanced and complex ones affiliated with commodification in a money economy. Religious Studies Review

Richard K. Payne is the Yehan Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhist Studies at Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, USA, and a member of the Graduate Theological Union’s Core Doctoral Faculty. He is author of Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra (Bloomsbury, 2018).

Fabio Rambelli is Professor of Japanese Religions and ISF Endowed Chair in Shinto Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is co-editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religions (Bloomsbury, 2021), Defining Shugendo (Bloomsbury, 2020) Spirits and Animism in Contemporary Japan (Bloomsbury, 2019), The Sea and the Sacred in Japan (Bloomsbury, 2018), and author of A Buddhist Theory of Semiotics (Bloomsbury, 2013).

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.