Revolutionaries and Reformers in Lao Buddhism

Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany

Introduction Part 1: Buddhist Socialism and the Bricolage Revolution 1. The Shape of Things to Come: Politics and the Lao Sangha before the Revolution 2. Social Engineering and State Effects: The Socialist Bricolage Revolution and its Impact on Buddhism Part 2: Buddhist Ethics and Giving between New Socialist Man and Contemporary Narrative Discourse 3. Giving as a Buddhist Technology of the Self: From Limited Exchange under Socialism to Transnational Dana 4. Narrative Ethics: The Excess of Giving and Moral Ambiguity in the Lao Vessantara-Jataka Part 3: Buddhism under Reformed Socialism 5. Between Cultural Preservation and This-Worldly Commitment: Socially Engaged Buddhism in Laos 6. The Controlled Revitalisation of Buddhism and the Spectres of Reformed Socialism. Conclusion