Can I read The Immortals: Faces of the Incredible in Buddhist Burma (Topics in Contemporary Buddhism) on EtoBox?

The Immortals: Faces of the Incredible in Buddhist Burma (Topics in Contemporary Buddhism) by Guillaume Rozenberg; Ward Keeler is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Immortals: Faces of the Incredible in Buddhist Burma (Topics in Contemporary Buddhism) about?

In 1952 a twenty-six-year-old man living in a village in Central Burma was possessed by weikzahumans with extraordinary powers, including immortality. Key figures in Burmese Buddhism, weikza do not die but live on in an invisible realm. From there they re-enter the world through possession to care for people's temporal and spiritual needs while protecting and propagating Buddhism. A cult quickly formed around the young peasant, the chosen medium for four weikza ranging in age from 150 to 1000 years. In addition, these weikza appeared regularly in the flesh. The Immortals plunges us into the midst of this cult, which continues to attract followers from all over the country who seek to pay homage to the weikza, receive their teaching, and benefit from their power. The cult of the four weikza raises a number of classic anthropological issues, particularly for the anthropology of religion: the nature of the supernatural and of belief; the relations among religion, magic, and science; the experience of possession. It also provides a window on contemporary Burmese society. To contemplate both, the author adopts an unconventional approach, which itself reflects representation in anthropol

Author

Guillaume Rozenberg; Ward Keeler

Publisher

University of Hawai'i Press

Published

2015

Language

EN

ISBN

9780824840952

Subjects

History, Anthropology, Buddhism