Zen in Brazil - Cristina Rocha
1
NEW FROM UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI ‘ I P RESS ORDER & SHIPPING INFORMATION ZEN IN BRAZIL The Quest for Cosmopolitan Modernity Cristina Rocha Widely perceived as an overwhelmingly Catholic nation, Brazil has experienced in recent years a growth in the popularity of Buddhism among the urban, cosmopolitan upper classes. In the 1990s Buddhism in general and Zen in particular were adopted by national elites, the media, and popular culture as a set of humanistic values to counter the rampant violence and crime in Brazilian society. Despite national media attention, the rapidly ex- panding Brazilian market for Buddhist books and events, and general interest in the globalization of Buddhism, the Brazilian case has received little scholarly attention. Cristina Rocha addresses that shortcoming in Zen in Brazil. Drawing on fieldwork in Japan and Brazil, she examines Brazilian history, culture, and litera- ture to uncover the mainly Catholic, Spiritist, and Afro-Brazilian religious matrices responsible for this particular indigenization of Buddhism. In her analysis of Japanese immigration and the adoption and creolization of the Sōtōshū school of Zen Bud- dhism in Brazil, she offers the fascinating insight that the latter is part of a process of “cannibaliz- ing” the modern other to become modern oneself. She shows, moreover, that in practicing Zen, the Brazilian intellectual elites from the 1950s onward have been driven by a desire to acquire and accu- mulate cultural capital both locally and overseas. Their consumption of Zen, Rocha contends, has been an expression of their desire to distinguish themselves from popular taste at home while at the same time associating themselves with overseas cultural elites. Rocha demonstrates that the existence of inflows and counterflows of Zen in Brazil illustrates the rhizomatic nature of the glo- balization process, where Brazil is one of the nodes (albeit less influential) in the web of global flows of Zen. Indeed, Zen in Bra- zil has never been isolated from trends oc- curring elsewhere. The arrival of Japanese immigrants, the rotation of Sōtōshū mis- sionaries among various temples outside Japan, Brazilian intellectuals traveling to metropolitan centers and translating books on Zen, the media, and more recently the internet have meant that Brazil has received inflows, but it has also produced counter- flows of Zen. Innovative and cross-disciplinary in its ap- proach, Zen in Brazil will appeal to schol- ars in the fields of religion, globalization, migration, Buddhism, and Asian and Latin American studies, as well as to those inter- ested in anthropology and cultural studies. CRISTINA ROCHA is an Australia Re- search Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney. TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY BUDDHISM 2006, 272 pages, 24 illustrations, 2 maps ISBN: 0-8248-2976-X / 978-0-8248-2976-6 Please send ____ copies of Zen in Brazil: The Quest for Cosmopolitan Modernity at the special 20% discount price of USD$29.60, Cloth to: _______________________________________________________________ NAME _______________________________________________________________ ADDRESS _______________________________________________________________ CITY/PROVINCE/POSTAL CODE/COUNTRY or by faxing 1–800–650-7811 1–808–988–6052 (Toll free in North America only) You may also order by calling 1–888–UHPRESS (847-7377) 1–808–956–8255 (Toll free in North America only) Visit our Web site www.uhpress.hawaii.edu thank you for your order! University of Hawai‘i Press Order Department 2840 Kolowalu Street Honolulu, HI 96822 USA U.S. shipping: USD$5.00 for the first book, plus USD$1.00 each additional book. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Outside U.S.: USD$7.00 for the first book, plus USD$3.00 each additional; USD$24.00 per book via air mail. Allow 8 to 12 weeks for surface delivery; 2 to 4 weeks for air. Orders from institutions must include original purchase order. Payment must be made in U.S. funds. TOTAL $___________ CHECK____ VISA____ MASTERCARD____ _______________________________________________________________ ACCOUNT NUMBER EXPIRES _______________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE _______________________________________________________________ DAYTIME TELEPHONE
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Artigo sobre a filosofia do zen
Transcript of Zen in Brazil - Cristina Rocha
NEW FROM UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I PRESS
ORDER & SHIPPING INFORMATION
ZEN IN BRAZILThe Quest for Cosmopolitan ModernityCristina Rocha
Widely perceived as an overwhelmingly Catholic nation, Brazil has experienced in recent years a growth in the popularity of Buddhism among the urban, cosmopolitan upper classes. In the 1990s Buddhism in general and Zen in particular were adopted by national elites, the media, and popular culture as a set of humanistic values to counter the rampant violence and crime in Brazilian society. Despite national media attention, the rapidly ex-panding Brazilian market for Buddhist books and events, and general interest in the globalization of Buddhism, the Brazilian case has received little scholarly attention. Cristina Rocha addresses that shortcoming in Zen in Brazil.
Drawing on fi eldwork in Japan and Brazil, she examines Brazilian history, culture, and litera-ture to uncover the mainly Catholic, Spiritist, and Afro-Brazilian religious matrices responsible for this particular indigenization of Buddhism. In her analysis of Japanese immigration and the adoption and creolization of the Sōtōshū school of Zen Bud-dhism in Brazil, she offers the fascinating insight that the latter is part of a process of “cannibaliz-ing” the modern other to become modern oneself. She shows, moreover, that in practicing Zen, the Brazilian intellectual elites from the 1950s onward have been driven by a desire to acquire and accu-mulate cultural capital both locally and overseas. Their consumption of Zen, Rocha contends, has been an expression of their desire to distinguish themselves from popular taste at home while at the same time associating themselves with overseas cultural elites.
Rocha demonstrates that the existence of infl ows and counterfl ows of Zen in Brazil illustrates the rhizomatic nature of the glo-balization process, where Brazil is one of the nodes (albeit less infl uential) in the web of global fl ows of Zen. Indeed, Zen in Bra-zil has never been isolated from trends oc-curring elsewhere. The arrival of Japanese immigrants, the rotation of Sōtōshū mis-sionaries among various temples outside Japan, Brazilian intellectuals traveling to metropolitan centers and translating books on Zen, the media, and more recently the internet have meant that Brazil has received infl ows, but it has also produced counter-fl ows of Zen.
Innovative and cross-disciplinary in its ap-proach, Zen in Brazil will appeal to schol-ars in the fi elds of religion, globalization, migration, Buddhism, and Asian and Latin American studies, as well as to those inter-ested in anthropology and cultural studies.
CRISTINA ROCHA is an Australia Re-search Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney.
TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY BUDDHISM2006, 272 pages, 24 illustrations, 2 mapsISBN: 0-8248-2976-X / 978-0-8248-2976-6
Please send ____ copies of Zen in Brazil: The Quest for Cosmopolitan Modernity at the special 20% discount price of USD$29.60, Cloth to:
_______________________________________________________________NAME
_______________________________________________________________ADDRESS
_______________________________________________________________CITY/PROVINCE/POSTAL CODE/COUNTRY
or by faxing1–800–650-78111–808–988–6052(Toll free in North America only)
You may also order by calling1–888–UHPRESS (847-7377)1–808–956–8255(Toll free in North America only)
Visit our Web site
www.uhpress.hawaii.edu
thank you for your order!
University of Hawai‘i PressOrder Department2840 Kolowalu StreetHonolulu, HI 96822 USA
U.S. shipping: USD$5.00 for the first book, plus USD$1.00 each additional book. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Outside U.S.: USD$7.00 for the first book, plus USD$3.00 each additional; USD$24.00 per book via air mail. Allow 8 to 12 weeks for surface delivery; 2 to 4 weeks for air. Orders from institutions must include original purchase order. Payment must be made in U.S. funds.
TOTAL $___________ CHECK____ VISA____ MASTERCARD____
_______________________________________________________________ACCOUNT NUMBER EXPIRES
_______________________________________________________________SIGNATURE
_______________________________________________________________DAYTIME TELEPHONE
SPECIAL 20% DISCOUNT OFFERUSD $29.60, Cloth
Regular Price USD$37.00, ClothUSD$37.00, Cloth
