{"product_id":"becoming-buddhist-1","title":"Becoming Buddhist","description":"What does it mean to be a Western Buddhist? For the predominantly Anglo-Australian\u003cbr\u003eaffiliates of two Western Buddhist centres in Australia, the author proposes an\u003cbr\u003eanswer to this question, and finds support for it from interviews and her own\u003cbr\u003eparticipant-observation experience.Practitioners'\u003cbr\u003eprior experiences of experimentation with spiritual groups and practices—and\u003cbr\u003etheir experiences of participation, practice and self-transformation—are\u003cbr\u003eexamined with respect to their roles in practitioners' appropriation of the\u003cbr\u003eBuddhist worldview, and their subsequent commitment to the path to\u003cbr\u003eenlightenment.Religious commitment is\u003cbr\u003eexperienced as a decision-point, itself the effect of the individual's\u003cbr\u003eexperimental immersion in the Centre's activities.During this time the claims of the Buddhist\u003cbr\u003eworldview are tested against personal experience and convictions.\u003cbr\u003eUsing rich ethnographic data and Lofland and\u003cbr\u003eSkonovd's experimental conversion motif as a model for theorizing the stages of\u003cbr\u003einvolvement leading to commitment, the author demonstrates that this study has\u003cbr\u003ea wider application to our understanding of the role of alternative religions\u003cbr\u003ein western contexts.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54252545507672,"sku":"9781350101029","price":43.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781350101029_037d155a-20fd-454a-8866-aff48ab7907f.jpg?v=1770280224","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/becoming-buddhist-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}