Buddhist Politics and the Politics of Buddhism in Nepal

David Gellner (Oxford)

Abstract

Buddhists in Nepal are not a homogeneous minority. They include culturally diverse Buddhists of long standing (Newars, Tibetans, Tamangs, some Gurungs) as well as others who are more recent converts (other Gurungs, Magars, Tharus, some Bahuns). At the same time, since Lumbini lies within the boundaries of modern Nepal, the Buddha plays a significant role in representing Nepal to the outside world. Buddhism is thus a key part of the whole religious field, the relationship of which to the state has been particularly contested over the last year. Nowadays these debates play out almost as much within the diaspora as they do within Nepal itself.

Bio

David Gellner is Professor of Social Anthropology and a Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford. He has carried out research on religion, ethnicity, and politics in Nepal for over thirty years. He is the author of Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual (CUP, 1992), The Anthropology of Buddhism and Hinduism: Weberian Themes (OUP, 2001), and (with Sarah LeVine) Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal (Harvard UP, 2005).