Purchase this article
USD $30.00
The Ethics of Collective Sponsorship
Virtuous Action and Obligation in Contemporary Tibet
in Religion and Society
Author:
Jane Caple
Jane Caple
University of Copenhagen gsb163@hum.ku.dk
Search for other papers by Jane Caple in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Jane Caple in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
USD $0.01
All currencies in US Dollar
ABSTRACT
A significant strand of anthropological work on Buddhist generosity practices in Therāvādin and Tibetan Buddhist societies has examined their role in reproducing and reinforcing social and economic hierarchies. Inspired by the recent ‘moral turn’ in anthropology, this article addresses the moral dimensions of these practices by analyzing debates, decisions, and judgments about what to sponsor and how to do so during times of accelerated ‘modernizing’ change. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in northeastern Tibet (Amdo) conducted between 2008 and 2015, I focus on a mode of collective sponsorship that has, in different contexts, been considered good, problematic, or even wrong. The moral grounds for such evaluations show that sponsorship is evaluated and experienced not only as a Buddhist practice but also as a social and economic practice with direct consequences for both individuals and communities. The moral stakes of generosity practices are shown to extend beyond individual ethics to the common good.
Contributor Notes
JANE CAPLE is a Marie-Skłodowska Curie Research Fellow at the University of Copenhagen. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from the University of Leeds in 2011. Her research has focused on the revival and development of Tibetan monastic Buddhism in northeast Tibet (Amdo/Qinghai), in particular, monastic economies and lay-monastic patronage. With research interests in religion, economy, and morality, her current project focuses on the relationship between Buddhism and ideas about wealth, virtue, and social justice in Tibet. E-mail: gsb163@hum.ku.dk