Max Weber and the sociology of Buddhism
Max Weber’s assessment of primitive Buddhism proves on the whole, as seen from the present-day perspective, to have been surprisingly correct. It is therefore able to serve as starting-point for a survey of the sociology of Buddhism. In this context, a discussion of Weber’s sources is added. Also la...
| Published in: | Internationales Asien-Forum |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Freiburg
Institution
1991
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| In: |
Internationales Asien-Forum
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Max Weber’s assessment of primitive Buddhism proves on the whole, as seen from the present-day perspective, to have been surprisingly correct. It is therefore able to serve as starting-point for a survey of the sociology of Buddhism. In this context, a discussion of Weber’s sources is added. Also largely still pertinent today is Weber’s description of the factors that caused the "transformation" of an old "soteriology for intellectuals" confined to a spiritual é1ite, into a religion of the masses. His assessment of the person and position of Aśoka is basically accurate, though details need to be revised; he does not differentiate between the historical Aśoka and the one portrayed in later Theravaḍa tradition. However, his treatment of the later development of Buddhism in the land of its birth, India, remained - true to the state of research at the time - rather tentative and unsatisfying. On the whole, however, the need to refine terminology becomes clear, something that might meaningfully occur on the basis of Weber’s work. |
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| Item Description: | Elektronische Reproduktion der Druckausgabe |
| ISSN: | 2365-0117 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Internationales Asien-Forum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.11588/iaf.1991.22.1740 URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-iaf-17405 |