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Buddhism and Caste in India and Sri Lanka
Author(s) -
Samuels Jeffrey
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
religion compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.113
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1749-8171
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2006.00013.x
Subject(s) - caste , sri lanka , buddhism , sanskrit , ancient history , hinduism , history , south asia , gender studies , sociology , socioeconomics , religious studies , anthropology , geography , political science , philosophy , literature , art , archaeology , law
This article examines the place of caste in Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka. In addition to suggesting a way of reconciling divergent attitudes toward caste in the Pali canon and several Sanskrit texts, this article explores the role that caste has played in the creation of new monastic lineages in eighteenth‐, nineteenth‐, and twentieth‐century Sri Lanka, as well as its role in monastic patronage and temple building in contemporary Sri Lanka.