Heartwood

Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America, by Wendy Cadge, is an important contribution to understanding the complex, ongoing process of the formation of a uniquely American dhamma. A sociological inquiry, Heartwood is also an engaging read that artfully balances theoretical reflections on religion, globalization, and immigration with a critical, yet sympathetic, interpretation of the practice life of two American Buddhist communities. The book, moreover, marks a significant turning point in the creation of a small but growing historiography on American Buddhism that emerged over the course of the last decade. During the 1990s, scholars directed attention to Buddhism in the United States and in the West in general, creating in the process what some see as a new subfield in Buddhist studies. Working out of different fields, they forged an interdisciplinary discourse about Buddhism that reflects issues then emerging within American practice communities. Drawing upon a slim body of critical literature published during the Buddhist boom of the 1970s, these scholars wrote as three independent developments fused to inform their critical thinking. First, counter-culture era practitioners who studied under Asian-born Buddhists began to come into their own as American-born dhamma teachers. Second, immigrant Buddhist communities from various Asian traditions that had grown rapidly after a 1965 change in the United States immigration law also began to come of age. Third, widespread enthusiasm for Buddhism was cresting once again, this time driven by media interest focused on the Dalai Lama and the uniquely rich religious and political culture of Tibet.

Aesthetics · Buddhism · Enthusiasm · Immigration · Interpretation (philosophy) · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies