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Community Relations of the Oxford Buddha Vihāra, England

Sat, March 18, 8:30 to 10:30am, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Floor: 4th Floor, Rosedale

Abstract

Buddhist temples in the West play a crucial role in preserving Buddhism and Buddhist culture among the immigrant communities, for they provide social space and act as learning centers for these communities. Moreover, temples in the West normally receive support from and cater for specific ethnic communities: a Burmese temple has support from and caters to the Burmese Buddhist community; a Thai temple to the Thai community, and so on. Oxford Buddha Vihāra (OBV) has been successful in capturing the attention of diverse immigrant communities as well as that of Western Buddhist converts. OBV was founded in 2004 by Dr. Ven. Khammai Dhammāsami, who is a Shan monk from the Shan State, Burma. Although OBV founded by a Shan monk, its outreach is wide, drawing support from the immigrant communities of different ethnic groups in United Kingdom such as Shan, Burmese, Thai, and Sri Lankan. In this paper, I explore factors that have contributed to its transnational outreach; to what extent, if any, there are cultural, social and personal tensions among these diverse communities; and how they negotiate the tensions.

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