Title
From Theravada To Tantra: The Making Of An American Tantric Buddhism?
Abstract
This paper examines recent innovations in the American vipassana or insight community, specifically a current I identify as West Coast Vipassana that has revisioned the Theravadin Buddhist goal of liberation, from a transcendental condition that demands a renunciation of the world, to an embodied enlightenment that affirms everyday householder life as a site for awakening. I draw on Jeffrey J. Kripal's tantric transmission thesis to advance an essentially tantric hermeneutic of West Coast Vipassana. I argue that while West Coast Vipassana is originally based in Theravada Buddhism, an Asian renouncer tradition that sharply differentiates between the immanent and transcendent, it has taken a markedly tantric turn in America. I also note, however, that it considerably differs from traditional Buddhist tantric traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism or esoteric Japanese Buddhism in being distinctively modern and American. © 2013 Taylor and Francis.
Publication Date
11-1-2013
Publication Title
Contemporary Buddhism
Volume
14
Issue
2
Number of Pages
221-238
Document Type
Article
Personal Identifier
scopus
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2013.832496
Copyright Status
Unknown
Socpus ID
84890062905 (Scopus)
Source API URL
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84890062905
STARS Citation
Gleig, Ann, "From Theravada To Tantra: The Making Of An American Tantric Buddhism?" (2013). Scopus Export 2010-2014. 6414.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/scopus2010/6414