Champions of Buddhism
Weikza Cults in Contemporary Burma

Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (Edited by), Guillaume Rozenberg (Edited by), Alicia Turner (Edited by)

9789971697808

Paperback / softback, published 30 May 2014

285 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.44 kg

Hidden at the margins of Burmese Buddhism and culture, the cults of the weikzaweikza in relation to the Vipassana insight meditation movement and conventional Buddhist practices, as well as the contemporary rise of Buddhist fundamentalism. Featuring research based on fieldwork only possible in recent years, paired with reflective essays by senior Buddhist studies scholars, this book situates the weikza cult in relation to broader Buddhist and Southeast Asian contexts, as the Burmese expressions of the weikza cults themselves. Champions of Buddhismopens the field to new questions, new problems, and new connections with the study of religion and Southeast Asia in general.