The Value of Refugees: The Impact of Inter-Asian Tibetan Buddhist Patronage Networks

Informations projet

FLOW

N° de convention de subvention: 101025661

DOI

10.3030/101025661

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 17 Mars 2021

Date de début 1 Janvier 2022

Date de fin 14 Mars 2024

Financé au titre de

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coût total

€ 207 312,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 207 312,00

Coordonné par

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FLOW (The Value of Refugees: The Impact of Inter-Asian Tibetan Buddhist Patronage Networks)

Période du rapport: 2022-01-01 au 2023-12-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

This project examined the changing landscape of contemporary Tibetan patronage. Specifically, it analyzed the shift from Western patronage to East- and Southeast Asian patronage. This was done through mixed methods, combining ethnographic fieldwork in Vietnam with quantitative data on the evolution of religion synthesized at the University of British Columbia's Database of Religious History.

The critical issue under investigation is how global Tibetan Buddhism is changing in new sociopolitical contexts, in this case late Socialist Vietnam. It's importance for society is manifold. First, CCP control over Tibetan Buddhism in the PRC and in Tibet means that global Tibetan Buddhism is a contested geo-political field with broader implications for state-society religions. Second, global Tibetan Buddhism, and shifting patronage, is a modern refugee adaptation that extends our understanding of refugee agency and Buddhist patronage. Third, new manifestations of Tibetan Buddhism, especially as syncretic new religions, tell us about the evolution of religion and its adaptation to late-Socialist and neoliberal forces, such as the 'corporate form' of Tibetan Buddhism. Last, ethnographic data collected during this project has revealed dimensions of global Tibetan Buddhism related to sexual and ethnic minorities, and to the minoritization of Vajrayana under state Mahayana.

The overall objectives were to track shifts in Tibetan Buddhist patronage; to track patronage back to South Asia, where it impacts sociality with proximate Indian neighbors; and to understand the structural conditions for the rise of Tibetan Buddhism in new parts of Southeast Asia.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

During the MSCA, I conducted 5 1/2 months of fieldwork in Vietnam, completed 9 related entries for the quantitative Database of Religious History, synthesized data from a previous postdoc in Japan on a cognate subject, and published five articles and two special issues.

A. The main scientific achievement of this MSCA is to advance our understanding of the Tibetan diaspora in countries that are largely overlooked but central, especially Vietnam and Japan. This has significant implications. For policy, it will shape federal communist policy about ‘foreign Buddhisms’ that are regulated or unrecognized currently. For theory, it will inform a new generation of scholarship about ‘religion and economy’ and the imbrication of spirituality and financial practices.

B. The MSCA fieldwork data is highly innovative since no one has ever researched Tibetan Buddhism in Vietnam. Articles will come out in 2024-25 that will shape the field of Buddhist Studies.

C. The central aspect of the State of the Art was to analyze the flow of transnational patronage of the Tibetan diaspora from East and Southeast Asia and to understand how these networks intersect at village, national, and geopolitical scales. This was achieved by combining previous fieldwork in India and Japan with MSCA fieldwork in Vietnam. Forthcoming articles will be the first to track shifts in transnational patronage and how this informs a new understanding of Tibetan diaspora politics and refugee possibilities.

D. A key innovative technological quality of this project is how it utilized the research infrastructure of the Database of Religious History. Based on MSCA fieldwork, I created 11 entries for the DRH about Tibeto-Vietnamese Vajrayana and will use the data analysis tools of the DRH to quantitatively measure aspects of religious change and financialization.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

PROGRESS and RESULTS:

The main research is complete and based on synthesizing fieldwork data from Vietnam, India, and Japan. I received my primary training on quantitative research and GIS tools from the DRH at UBC. I transferred knowledge to the CCBS by hosting several events and promoting the study of Tibetan Buddhism in lesser-known contexts like Vietnam and Japan, and how East and Southeast Asia are interlocking with Indian village politics. Within CCBS, all my activities and organized events were within Buddhism, Business and Believers (BBB) and the study of Buddhist value production. I also joined Asian Dynamics Initiative (ADI) and participated in their retreat and received funding from them for several workshops.

IMPACTS:

The MSCA directly impacted my career. My next job is as a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyoto, Japan (2024-25). I will research new religions using the quantitative Database of Religious History and publish a monograph. I am also a finalist with a 60% of being co-PI on a one million euro grant through the Templeton Foundation. The result will come in June 2024. It is a three-year grant to explore new religions and builds on the MSCA. As explained above, my MSCA fieldwork addresses a core societal and governmental need in Vietnam, which is to make policy choices about the regulation of Tibetan Buddhism within the existing framework of religious freedom. MSCA-related data will have potential use in shaping the legal debate about regulating foreign Buddhisms in Vietnam.