An eminent anthropologist examines the foundings of the first celibate Buddhist monasteries among the Sherpas of Nepal in the early twentieth century--a religious development that was a major departure from "folk" or "popular" Buddhism. Sherry Ortner is the first to integrate social scientific and historical modes of analysis in a study of the Sherpa monasteries and one of the very few to attempt such an account for Buddhist monasteries anywhere. Combining ethnographic and oral-historical methods, she scrutinizes the ...
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An eminent anthropologist examines the foundings of the first celibate Buddhist monasteries among the Sherpas of Nepal in the early twentieth century--a religious development that was a major departure from "folk" or "popular" Buddhism. Sherry Ortner is the first to integrate social scientific and historical modes of analysis in a study of the Sherpa monasteries and one of the very few to attempt such an account for Buddhist monasteries anywhere. Combining ethnographic and oral-historical methods, she scrutinizes the interplay of political and cultural factors in the events culminating in the foundings. Her work constitutes a major advance both in our knowledge of Sherpa Buddhism and in the integration of anthropological and historical modes of analysis. At the theoretical level, the book contributes to an emerging theory of "practice," an explanation of the relationship between human intentions and actions on the one hand, and the structures of society and culture that emerge from and feed back upon those intentions and actions on the other. It will appeal not only to the increasing number of anthropologists working on similar problems but also to historians anxious to discover what anthropology has to offer to historical analysis. In addition, it will be essential reading for those interested in Nepal, Tibet, the Sherpa, or Buddhism in general.
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Add this copy of High Religion: a Cultural and Political History of to cart. $1.78, fair condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Princeton University Press.
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In this very clearly written work Ortner does two things very well. On the one hand she explains the processes and social and historical developments that preceded the building of the celibate Buddhist monasteries in Sherpa society. On the other hand she uses her fieldwork among the Sherpas to illustrate her Practice Theory, her answer to the age-old structure-agency debate. Although the start of the book may be too abstract for some students, she keeps repeating the central points of her theory and thoughts and finishes with a concluding chapter that more than makes up for it. I am a student of Religious Studies myself and I must say I found her exposition of 'how structure structures action' on pages 126-129 particularly lucid and would recommend it to any student of the social sciences. Ortner has a very accessible way of writing and although the introduction is complex, in the rest of the book she manages to get her points and theoretical framework across very clearly. Her use of many examples from her fieldwork and her telling of many Sherpa stories provides an accessible and pleasant illustration to her overall argument. All in all I'm very glad I read this book and now better understand not only Sherpa society, but some of the inherent theoretical and methodological concerns of anthropology.
