The Book
In Buying Buddha, Selling Rumi, Sophia Rose Arjana examines the appropriation and sale of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam in the West today, the role of mysticism and Orientalism in the religious marketplace, and how the commodification of religion impacts people's lives.
Additional Information
| Subject | Religion, Religion: Buddhism, Religion: Hinduism, Religion: Islam, Spirituality |
|---|---|
| Pages | 320 |
| Imprint | Oneworld Academic |
| Illustrations | integrated greyscale illustrations |
Reviews
‘Buying Buddha, Selling Rumi highlights the hidden costs of what would appear to be positive stereotypes about Eastern religiosity. In doing so, Arjana interrogates cultural colonialism, i.e. the borrowing of other people's cultures and religions without giving credit to actual persons and institutions… With its comprehensive theoretically informed approach and exciting case studies, I would especially recommend this book for use in undergraduate classes.'
‘A wide-ranging overview of the ongoing power and cultural significance of long-standing Western Orientalist tropes about "the Mystic East”. This is an important work for anyone working on Asian traditions and their contemporary appropriation, transformation and commodification.'
‘A fascinating and wholly engrossing exploration of how "mysticism”, as we know it in the West, circulates as a modern-day product of colonial structures of power.'
‘Both scholarly and readable, Buying Buddha, Selling Rumi deepens our understanding of the way the West appropriates Eastern religion.'
Table of Contents
Introduction1 Histories of Religion and Mysticism
2 Cultural Colonialism, Muddled Orientalism, and the Mystic Poor
3 Mysticism, Incorporated
4 Hindu Hippies and Boulder Buddhists
5 Rumimaniacs
6 Lost, Star Wars, and Mystical Hollywood
Postscript
Notes
Bibliography
Index
