Tartan Buddhists
A Typology for Understanding Participation in a Tibetan Buddhist Organization in Scotland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v7i1.8Keywords:
Authority, Participants, Power, Scotland, Status, Tibetan Buddhism, TypologyAbstract
The purpose of this article is to provide a sociological typology for understanding the different types of practitioners within the Tibetan Buddhist organization, Rokpa International, in Scotland. It will be argued that the empirically derived criteria and Weber’s (1978) sociological concepts of authority, power and status allow us to understand the tensions and mutually dependent relationship between the different types. In conclusion, it will be argued that, while this typology is not presented as a challenge to existing typologies, this article demonstrates the potential utility of these sociological concepts for understanding the practice and development of Buddhism in the West.
References
Akong Tulku Rinpoche, Dr. 2005. Restoring the Balance: Sharing Tibetan Wisdom. Dumfriesshire, Scotland: Dzalendara Publishing.
Baumann, Martin. 1997. “The Dharma Has Come West: A Survey of Recent Study and Sources,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 4, 194–211.
—2002a. “Buddhism in Europe,” in C. S. Prebish and M. Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 85–105.
—2002b. “Protective Amulets and Awareness Techniques, or How to Make Sense of Buddhism in the West,” in C. S. Prebish and M. Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 34–50.
Cadge, Wendy. 2005. Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Coleman, James W. 2001. The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cush, Denise. 1996. “British Buddhism and the New Age,” Journal of Contemporary Religion, 11, 195–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537909608580768
Giddens, Anthony. 1996. In Defence of Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Heelas, Paul. 1996. The New Age Movement. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hobsbawm, E. J. 1983. “Introduction: Inventing Tradition,” in Eric J. Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–14.
Hughes, John A., W. W. Sharrock and P. J. Martin. 2009. Understanding Classical Sociology: Marx, Weber, Durkheim. London: Sage.
Jenkins, Richard. 1996. Social Identity. London: Routledge.
Kay, David. 2004. Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London: Routledge.
Khandro, Ani Rinchen. 2007. Kagyu Samye Ling: The Story. Dumfriesshire, Scotland: Dzalendara Publishing.
Layman, Emma. M. 1976. Buddhism in America. Chicago, IL: Nelson Hall.
Lenoir, F., and J. Vale. 1999. “The Adaptation of Buddhism to the West,” Diogenes, 47.3, 100– 109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/039219219904718710
Matthews, B. 2002. “Buddhism in Canada,” in Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 120–38.
McKenzie, John S. 2009. “‘You don’t know how lucky you are to be here!’: Reflections on Covert Practices in an Overt Participant Observation Study,” Sociological Research Online, 14.2-3, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/14/2/8.html
Midal, Fabrice. 2004. Chogyam Trungpa: His Life and Vision. Boston, MA and London: Shambhala Press.
Mukpo, Diana J. 2006. Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa. Boston, MA and London: Shambhala Press.
Nattier, J. 1998. “Who is a Buddhist? Charting the Landscape of Buddhist America,” in C. S. Prebish and K. K. Tanaka, eds. The Faces of Buddhism in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 183–95.
Newman, Bruce. 2004. A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhism: Notes from a Practitioner’s Journey. New York: Snow Lion Publications.
Numrich, Paul. D. 1996. Old Wisdom in the New World: Americanization in Two Immigrant Theravada Buddhist Temples. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.
Obadia, Lionel. 2001. “Tibetan Buddhism in France: A Missionary Religion?” Journal of Global Buddhism, 1, 102–15.
Oliver, Ian. P. 1979. Buddhism in Britain. London: Rider and Company.
O’Reilly, Karen. 2005. Ethnographic Methods. London: Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/ 9780203320068
Paine, Jeffrey. 2004. Re-Enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West. New York: Norton.
Prebish, Charles. 1979. American Buddhism. North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press.
—1999. Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Prothero, Stephen. 1996. The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications.
Tweed, T. A. 2002. “Who is Buddhist?: Night-Stand Buddhists and Other Creatures,” in Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. California, CA: University of California Press, 17–33.
Wallace, B. A. 2002. “The Spectrum of Buddhist Practice in the West,” in Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. California, CA: University of California Press, 34–50.
Weber, Max. 1978. Economy and Society: Vol. 1. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Websites
www.abdn.rokpa.org (accessed May, 2005)
www.glasgow.rokpa.org (accessed May, 2005)
www.samyeling.org (accessed May, 2005)
