Thomas Borchert
Biographic Data
| ID | 292910 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Borchert |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Borchert |
| SIGNATURE | BORCHERT T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Vermont |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Baptizing Burma
Living Theravada
The Power and Authority of Monks in the Contemporary Thai Sangha
Rendering visible monks in the shadow of power
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Monks, the State, and Monastic Governance in Contemporary Thailand
The relationship between Buddhism and politics in Theravāda communities has been a subject of regular scholarly investigation since at least the 1970s. However, in much of this scholarship, the primary problem has been to understand how the secular state interacts with religious actors. An assumption exists that the Thai state governs the sangha, and how monks in Theravāda sanghas govern one another has received insufficient attention. In Thailan…
A preliminary survey of Buddhist higher education in Asia
Over the course of the last century, a number of Buddhist institutions of higher learning have been established across Asia. These institutions play an important role in many Asian sanghas, but they have received little scholarly attention. This article maps out some of the diverse aspects of these universities, and sketches out different types of institutions of Buddhist higher education. It argues that while Buddhists have long had advanced edu…
Belt-and-Road Buddhists
Although religious institutions and communities have grown significantly in China since the early 1980s, the recent past has seen difficult conditions for the practice of religion, with increased surveillance and oppressive acts by the Chinese government. Changes to government policies and priorities make it difficult to generalize about the conditions of religious practice over the course of the Reform period. This paper examines the monastic in…
Bad gifts, community standards, and the disciplining of Theravāda monks
The act of giving is among the most fundamental acts within the Buddhist world, particularly in the Theravāda communities of Southeast Asia. In many of these communities, lay followers give food and other dāna (merit-making gifts), providing monastics with the ‘requisites’ that they need to survive. Yet there is relatively little discussion within Buddhist or scholarly communities about what should be given, with formulaic lists representing the …
Educating Monks
Most studies of Buddhist communities tend to be limited to villages, individual temple communities, or a single national community. Buddhist monastics, however, cross a number of these different framings: They are part of local communities, are governed through national legal frameworks, and participate in both national and transnational Buddhist networks. Educating Monks makes visible the ways Buddhist communities are shaped by all of the above-…
The Buddha’s Precepts on Respecting Other Races and Religions? Thinking about the Relationship of Ethnicity and Theravada Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is often practised in contexts of significant ethnic diversity in Southeast Asia, but much scholarship has not sufficiently accounted for the role of this diversity in shaping the imagination of Theravada Buddhism among its practitioners in the region. Examination of Theravada Buddhist communities in the three very different contexts of Singapore, Southwest China and Thailand serves as the basis for consideration of this role. …
Sons of the Buddha
Scratching the Surface of Religion and “Religion” in Contemporary C hina
The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism
Monastic Labor
Journal Article Monastic Labor: Thinking about the Work of Monks in Contemporary Theravāda Communities Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume 79, Issue 1, March 2011, Pages 162–192, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfq035 Published: 21 August 2010
The Abbot's New House
Journal Article The Abbot's New House: Thinking about How Religion Works among Buddhists and Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Church and State, Volume 52, Issue 1, Winter 2010, Pages 112–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csq033 Published: 03 June 2010
Buddhisms of French Indochina
Worry for the Dai Nation
Over the last thirty years or so, there has been a broad consensus about what constitutes modern forms of Theravāda Buddhism. "Buddhist modernism," as it has been called, has been marked by an understanding of the Buddha's thought as in accord with scientific rationalism; increased lay participation, particularly in meditation practice and leadership of the Buddhist community; and increased participation by women in the leadership of the Sangha. …
Buddhism, Politics, and Nationalism in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
Buddhism is widely understood as a religion with a global scope. Particularly from the end of the twentieth century, the widespread growth of Buddhism internationally, and the extensive ties between Buddhists institutions, leave the impression of unity within contemporary Buddhism. Nevertheless, in this article, I argue that Buddhism cannot be understood outside of a national context. Although international ties between Buddhists are real and imp…
Of Temples and Tourists
In the Place of Origins
The Feast of the Sorcerer
Journal Article The Feast of the Sorcerer: Practices of Consciousness and Power, by Bruce Kapferer. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997, 333 pages + bibliography, glossary, and index, $65.00, $27.50 (pbk.) Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert University of Chicago Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 60, Issue 1, Spring 1999, Pages 94–95, https://doi.org/10.2307/37…
Forest Recollections
Worry for the Dai Nation
Over the last thirty years or so, there has been a broad consensus about what constitutes modern forms of Theravāda Buddhism. "Buddhist modernism," as it has been called, has been marked by an understanding of the Buddha's thought as in accord with scientific rationalism; increased lay participation, particularly in meditation practice and leadership of the Buddhist community; and increased participation by women in the leadership of the Sangha. …
Buddhism, Politics, and Nationalism in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
Buddhism is widely understood as a religion with a global scope. Particularly from the end of the twentieth century, the widespread growth of Buddhism internationally, and the extensive ties between Buddhists institutions, leave the impression of unity within contemporary Buddhism. Nevertheless, in this article, I argue that Buddhism cannot be understood outside of a national context. Although international ties between Buddhists are real and imp…
Educating Monks
Most studies of Buddhist communities tend to be limited to villages, individual temple communities, or a single national community. Buddhist monastics, however, cross a number of these different framings: They are part of local communities, are governed through national legal frameworks, and participate in both national and transnational Buddhist networks. Educating Monks makes visible the ways Buddhist communities are shaped by all of the above-…
The Abbot's New House
Journal Article The Abbot's New House: Thinking about How Religion Works among Buddhists and Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Church and State, Volume 52, Issue 1, Winter 2010, Pages 112–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csq033 Published: 03 June 2010
Monks, the State, and Monastic Governance in Contemporary Thailand
The relationship between Buddhism and politics in Theravāda communities has been a subject of regular scholarly investigation since at least the 1970s. However, in much of this scholarship, the primary problem has been to understand how the secular state interacts with religious actors. An assumption exists that the Thai state governs the sangha, and how monks in Theravāda sanghas govern one another has received insufficient attention. In Thailan…
Bad gifts, community standards, and the disciplining of Theravāda monks
The act of giving is among the most fundamental acts within the Buddhist world, particularly in the Theravāda communities of Southeast Asia. In many of these communities, lay followers give food and other dāna (merit-making gifts), providing monastics with the ‘requisites’ that they need to survive. Yet there is relatively little discussion within Buddhist or scholarly communities about what should be given, with formulaic lists representing the …
The Buddha’s Precepts on Respecting Other Races and Religions? Thinking about the Relationship of Ethnicity and Theravada Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is often practised in contexts of significant ethnic diversity in Southeast Asia, but much scholarship has not sufficiently accounted for the role of this diversity in shaping the imagination of Theravada Buddhism among its practitioners in the region. Examination of Theravada Buddhist communities in the three very different contexts of Singapore, Southwest China and Thailand serves as the basis for consideration of this role. …
Monastic Labor
Journal Article Monastic Labor: Thinking about the Work of Monks in Contemporary Theravāda Communities Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume 79, Issue 1, March 2011, Pages 162–192, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfq035 Published: 21 August 2010
Forest Recollections
The Feast of the Sorcerer
Journal Article The Feast of the Sorcerer: Practices of Consciousness and Power, by Bruce Kapferer. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997, 333 pages + bibliography, glossary, and index, $65.00, $27.50 (pbk.) Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert University of Chicago Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 60, Issue 1, Spring 1999, Pages 94–95, https://doi.org/10.2307/37…
In the Place of Origins
Of Temples and Tourists
Buddhism, Politics, and Nationalism in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
Buddhism is widely understood as a religion with a global scope. Particularly from the end of the twentieth century, the widespread growth of Buddhism internationally, and the extensive ties between Buddhists institutions, leave the impression of unity within contemporary Buddhism. Nevertheless, in this article, I argue that Buddhism cannot be understood outside of a national context. Although international ties between Buddhists are real and imp…
Worry for the Dai Nation
Over the last thirty years or so, there has been a broad consensus about what constitutes modern forms of Theravāda Buddhism. "Buddhist modernism," as it has been called, has been marked by an understanding of the Buddha's thought as in accord with scientific rationalism; increased lay participation, particularly in meditation practice and leadership of the Buddhist community; and increased participation by women in the leadership of the Sangha. …
Buddhisms of French Indochina
The Abbot's New House
Journal Article The Abbot's New House: Thinking about How Religion Works among Buddhists and Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Church and State, Volume 52, Issue 1, Winter 2010, Pages 112–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csq033 Published: 03 June 2010
Monastic Labor
Journal Article Monastic Labor: Thinking about the Work of Monks in Contemporary Theravāda Communities Get access Thomas Borchert Thomas Borchert E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume 79, Issue 1, March 2011, Pages 162–192, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfq035 Published: 21 August 2010
Scratching the Surface of Religion and “Religion” in Contemporary C hina
The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism
Sons of the Buddha
The Buddha’s Precepts on Respecting Other Races and Religions? Thinking about the Relationship of Ethnicity and Theravada Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is often practised in contexts of significant ethnic diversity in Southeast Asia, but much scholarship has not sufficiently accounted for the role of this diversity in shaping the imagination of Theravada Buddhism among its practitioners in the region. Examination of Theravada Buddhist communities in the three very different contexts of Singapore, Southwest China and Thailand serves as the basis for consideration of this role. …
Educating Monks
Most studies of Buddhist communities tend to be limited to villages, individual temple communities, or a single national community. Buddhist monastics, however, cross a number of these different framings: They are part of local communities, are governed through national legal frameworks, and participate in both national and transnational Buddhist networks. Educating Monks makes visible the ways Buddhist communities are shaped by all of the above-…
A preliminary survey of Buddhist higher education in Asia
Over the course of the last century, a number of Buddhist institutions of higher learning have been established across Asia. These institutions play an important role in many Asian sanghas, but they have received little scholarly attention. This article maps out some of the diverse aspects of these universities, and sketches out different types of institutions of Buddhist higher education. It argues that while Buddhists have long had advanced edu…
Belt-and-Road Buddhists
Although religious institutions and communities have grown significantly in China since the early 1980s, the recent past has seen difficult conditions for the practice of religion, with increased surveillance and oppressive acts by the Chinese government. Changes to government policies and priorities make it difficult to generalize about the conditions of religious practice over the course of the Reform period. This paper examines the monastic in…
Bad gifts, community standards, and the disciplining of Theravāda monks
The act of giving is among the most fundamental acts within the Buddhist world, particularly in the Theravāda communities of Southeast Asia. In many of these communities, lay followers give food and other dāna (merit-making gifts), providing monastics with the ‘requisites’ that they need to survive. Yet there is relatively little discussion within Buddhist or scholarly communities about what should be given, with formulaic lists representing the …
Monks, the State, and Monastic Governance in Contemporary Thailand
The relationship between Buddhism and politics in Theravāda communities has been a subject of regular scholarly investigation since at least the 1970s. However, in much of this scholarship, the primary problem has been to understand how the secular state interacts with religious actors. An assumption exists that the Thai state governs the sangha, and how monks in Theravāda sanghas govern one another has received insufficient attention. In Thailan…
Rendering visible monks in the shadow of power
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Power and Authority of Monks in the Contemporary Thai Sangha
Baptizing Burma
Living Theravada
Buddhism (16 works) · Philosophy (16 works) · History (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Political science (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies (10 works) · Archaeology (9 works) · Religious studies (9 works) · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography (8 works)