Hindu and Buddhist Initiations in India and Nepal

Broadly speaking, two sets of rituals are relevant to a discussion of initiations in Hindu and Buddhist traditions: initiatory rituals as part of the life-cycle which are observed in many social groups and are compulsory depending on gender or age, and those, more optional in character, that allow admittance
to a certain religious group or practice. The contributors to this volume are from different academic disciplines
and treat examples of both kinds of rituals in various religious settings. Of special interest in this collection of essays are interrelationships among initiations and their relations to other kinds of rituals. The papers are devoted to the study of minute details and point to the dynamics of initiations. The transfer of ritual elements accompanied by readjustments to new contexts as the modification of procedures or the reassignment of meanings is one of the recurring traits. Other aspects addressed by the authors include the relation of script (ritual handbooks) to performance or various forces of change (e.g. the economics of ritual, gender-related variations, modernization and democratization).